


Rebirth of an evil mage

by Guraga



Category: Original Work, Rebirth - Fandom
Genre: Blood Magic, Cruelty, Curses, Dark Magic, Demons, Dragons, Elemental Magic, Elves, Emotional Manipulation, Evil Plans, Gen, Genocide, Golems, Killing, Mages, Magic, Magical Artifacts, Manipulation, Mild Gore, Near Death Experiences, Necromancy, Older Characters, Original Fiction, POV Multiple, Reincarnation, Scheming, Spirits, Strong Female Characters, Swordfighting, Vampires, War, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 172
Words: 318,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24662887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guraga/pseuds/Guraga
Summary: Noah Wimbeldon, an incredibly powerful mage, destroys the world in his pursuit of ultimate knowledge and godhood.Now, as the last surviving being on the planet, he attempts to reach a higher plane of existence, but he ends up failing and dies.However, he finds himself reborn, 800 years into the past. Armed with his knowledge from his previous life, this time he will succeed in his goal while making sure that nothing stops him from achieving it.
Comments: 36
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic. I hope you enjoy it.

A huge grey world spread out as far as anyone could see. The sky was dark, covered in black clouds which forbid the sun's rays from touching the ground. 

The grey sand akin to ash was flung upwards by the unnatural winds that ravaged the land. There was no soil, no water, no plants and no animals. No matter where one went they would only find sand and silence.

In this dead world stood a great tower. It was metal in color, and filled with cracks and holes of various sizes. Surrounding the tower is a giant wall, now almost completely destroyed. 

The ground around it is littered with rusty weapons and armor, big craters several meters in diameter and a huge amount of skeletons. These skeletons belonged to various races, as there were a multitude of those that were even bigger than houses. 

Next to the skeletons were numerous destroyed stone and metal-like creatures, their parts thrown everywhere. 

Although the world around the tower was silent, the inside of the tower was anything but. The tower didn't only spread upwards, it also spread underground. 

The inside of the tower was filled with magic arrays and magic lines, which shined red like blood and gave off a feeling as if they were a beating heart. The further one went, the more clearly they would hear the sound of a pickaxe hitting and breaking stones. 

Deep underground, a collosal mine of unimaginable proportions spread out. Inside, hundreds upon hundreds of golems tirelessly mined the surrounding rock, searching for ores. 

If they found metal or gold ores, they would throw them away like garbage. The only ore that was ever mined from these tunnels was a blue shiny mineral.

This mineral would be mined until it's last piece, then put into mine carts and moved using magic arrays that pushed the carts forward. Their destination was a huge cauldron, situated in one of the tower's underground rooms. 

Once the carts arrived to the cauldron they would automatically throw out their cargo inside the cauldron, where the ore would then be completely desintegrated by an invisible force.

What's leftover is blue energy that the mineral released. This blue energy would then be sucked up by the special set of magic circles above the cauldron, and the magic circles would transfer the energy to the red lines that stretched all the way to the top of the tower.

At the top of the tower stands a single room. It's empty, apart from a wide magic circle in the middle of the room. This magic circle was filled with complicated lines and many smaller magic circles intertwined together. 

The blue energy that was lead here by the red lines poured into the circle, which made it shine brighter over time. Now, the magic circle did something new. 

Once the newest batch of energy was lead into the circle, it released a powerful red shine alongside small particles that began surrounding the circle like small moons. 

Suddenly, with the sound of footsteps, the door burst open, and an elderly man in a mage robe entered the room. He hurried to the magic circle and carefully inspected it. After about a minute, he let out a hearty laugh. "Finally, it finally succeeded!" He yelled out in happiness. "My work didn't go in vain." 

After saying that, he immediately began running downstairs and soon returned with five crystal clear balls and a bowl filled with red powder. He then used the red powder to make an arm of the star. 

At the and of each of the arm he placed one crystal ball. Soon enough, the result was a red shining pentagon. The crystal balls now also shone, and emitted a different kind of light. 

The red light gave off a repulsive feeling, while the new white light gave off a holy feeling, as if the crystal balls were holy objects.

The elderly man couldn't help but shake in excitement and happiness. He felt as if he was going to star crying at any moment. "And now the hard part is finished. Now, onto the easy part." 

He took off his mage robe, and used more red powder to draw strange symbols on his body. Then, he slowly stepped into the magic circle. He sat in the middle of the circle in a meditating position. 

Calming his excited heart, he began murmoring weird words while making different hand gestures. The red symbols on the elderly man's body began shining red. A smile appeared on his face, and he now issued a command. 

"I command thee, as the Sovereign of magic, gather in my body!" On his command, the energy collected inside the big magic circle on the floor fused with the white energy emitted from the crystal balls and began violently seeping into his body. 

The energy now began flowing into his soul, greatly nourishing and enhancing it. His soul, which was before light blue, now began slowly changing color into a golden one. 

[Wonderful, it's just as the book described, the ascension is near! Now, my soul will leave this vessel and ascend to a higher plane of existence!] The process continued and the man felt himself growing in strength and power. 

Soon, a suction force slowly began pulling at his now golden soul upwards, out of his body and up into the sky.

But something happened. The energy that was supposed to flow into the elderly man's body was now clashing amongst itself, twisting the surrounding reality. The man was also pulled into this distortion. 

[What is this? This phenomenon is not described in the book. It's not supposed to happen. What did I do wrong?] The old man was now greatly alarmed of what might happen if he continued in the ritual. 

He tried to stop it, but was unable to. This caused him a great degree of fear, not for his life, but for the potential loss of his energy that he spent hundreds of years collecting. 

But no matter how he tried, it was pointless. The ritual could not be stopped, and this distortion now began affecting his body. 

His limbs contorted, the skin cracked and fresh blood began pouring out like a small fountain. The bones began cracking due to pressure, and as pressure began growing his bones began breaking.

The elderly man realised it was over. Even if he stopped the ritual now, his body was beyond repair. He would die in a few minutes anyway, so he simply decided to give up, resigning himself to his unavoidable demise. 

[So I failed... It's a shame, I really wanted to at least understand what I did wrong...] With those last words, followed by cracking sounds, darkness washed over the man. Silence ensued.

[Hm? Voices?] He wasn't imagining it. In the void he was in, he began hearing voices. Then, a white flash shined at him for a moment, and he now found himself right in front of the face of a middle aged man. "Ah, he is a beautiful baby boy." 

The man looked at him affectionately while holding him in his hands. [What is this? Where am I? Why does this man look familiar?] The elderly man tried to speak but was overcome with intense fatigue and was now slowly falling asleep. 

"Congratulations, lady Octavia." The faimiliar man said while giving the tired elderly man away to someone else. 

He now felt someone else's delicate hands hold him carefully. [Wait... lady Octavia? I only know one person that was addressed with those words... It couldn't be... Was I... I...] 

"You really are beautiful. I shall name you Noah. Noah Wimbeldon. Sleep well, my dear sweet child." An elegant voice of a woman carried a small baby to sleep, and it now slept peacefully on the chest of it's mother.


	2. Chapter 2

It has been a month since Noah was born. Now, he spent his time lying in his cradle, sleeping. Occasionally, he would begin crying because he either peed himself or was hungry. 

Maids usually took care of cleaning him, and his mother, Octavia Wimbeldon would feed him. [Damn, this body barely listens to me. Is it because it's still adjusting to house my soul?] Noah was greatly troubled. He could barely control his young body, and couldn't even control his crying. 

"My baby boy, are you hungry again?" A gorgeous woman with silver hair entered the room and called out to Noah affectionately. The baby Noah's body responded instinctually, and began crying again. 

The woman smiled warmly, and brought him close to breastfeed him. [How horrid. I would much rather fight against legions of demons and dragons with a single finger than enduring this torture.

Just the utter humiliation makes me want to attempt possessing some other body.] In order to not think of the taste and sensation, Noah decided to leak out some of his mana sense. 

[But, it's good that I still possess my mana sense from when I was a sovereign. This makes it easier for me to see what is happening around here.] 

Mana sense is a special ability that magicians who at least have a Rank of Officer possess. It allows a magician to extend an invisible forcefield around themselves so that they can see other creatures which have mana in them even without eyes. 

The range and clarity of sight depends on the magic Rank the magician has. Magic Ranks are levels of achievement the magician attains. The ranks are: Paragon, Officer, General, Magistrate, Ruler and finally, Sovereign of magic. 

The Paragon rank magicians make up the greatest number of magicians all over the world, and the number drops the more one climbs the ranks. The Sovereign Rank magicians are the rarest in the world. 

There is only one per kingdom, and they never interfere in the battles between kingdoms unless another Sovereign is deployed. Needless to say, they are living legends and even kings have to bow their heads in respect when they speak to them. 

Noah's mana sense extended across 2 kilometers, engulfing most of the property that belongs to his family. Now, he was capable of seeing maids doing cleaning, the shepherds taking care of horses, the chef cooking for the family... 

[With this, it's certain. This is indeed my former home. The Wimbeldon estate that belongs to my father, the Grand Duke Wimbeldon.] 

Then, he took a look at a room on the other side of the mansion he was in. There, in a room that was filled with toys and dresses, played four girls. They were three years old, and were now trying out various dresses and complimenting each other. 

Noah spared one girl a glance more than the others, before looking elsewhere. [So my sister Elizabeth is now three years old. I see. Looks like Timothy won't be born for another year.] 

Suddenly, Noah's mana sense caught glimpse of three men on horsebacks. They were approaching the estate at great speed. [So he's here as well now...] The man riding in the middle exuded a formidable aura. 

He was in his middle years, with dark brown hair and thick moustache. He was wearing armor and had a halberd on his back. The man's stern and serious face was now sweating, and he looked like he was in a hurry. 

Noah knew who he was. His father, Nicolas Wimbeldon, the Grand Duke of the Lidour kingdom. [He should be hurrying over to see me. Mother must have sent him a letter. And judging by the way he looks, he probably rode the horse without stopping for a moment.] Noah now retracted his mana sense just as his mother finished feeding him. 

She put him in the cradle to sleep. Noah wasn't yet sleepy, so he continued listening to the commotion outside. Obviously, it was because of his father's return. His mother also heard what was happening and she rushed out of the room to see her husband.

Noah waited for about ten minutes before his family entered the room. The first to literally barge in was his father Nicolas, followed by his mother Octavia and his sister Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth inherited her look from her mother, and light brown hair from her father. It was obvious that in the future she would grow up to be a beautiful woman, just like her mother. Nicolas looked inside the cradle and met gaze with Noah. 

Nicolas had a stern look on his face as he observed his son. His current appearance would be scary to any child, especially if you consider his magic Rank. Nicolas is a General Rank Warrior who uses mana to enhance his body strength. 

If any small child felt his aura, they would no doubt cry and pee in their pants. But Noah simply returned his father's gaze with his own. He looked at his father as if he was a man looking at a random stone on his path. 

After all, why would he be afraid? In his past life Noah was a sovereign of magic, the absolute pinnacle of strength possible in the world. 

He had fought and killed many general rank opponents while fighting for his life. To the previous him, a general rank was nothing more than a fly which he could kill with his finger.

This completely stunned Nicolas. He was expecting the baby to cry at the sight of him, but it was the exact opposite. The baby actually looked at him completely emotionlessly. 

This sight also stunned Octavia and Elizabeth. They too were expecting Noah to begin crying, at which point Octavia would pick him up in her arms and calm him down. 

"Wow, he's so calm." Elizabeth gently patted Noah's head. "How strange." Nicolas now recovered from his surprise and carefully picked Noah up into his hands. 

Seeing that the baby is indeed calm, his face now changed to a happy look. "He will be a great man in the future. I can feel it." He said, as pride filled him. Noah was now surprised. 

In his past life, he has only seen his father smile a few times, of which only once did he smile for him. [Interesting. To think that he would actually be proud of something so small.] 

"Now now, dear. We should let the boy rest. I just fed him earlier, he should be feeling sleepy now. And you, young lady, you can't leave your guests to wait for too long." Octavia now took the baby from Nicolas and placed him in the cradle again. 

"Can I show him to my friends, mom? Can I, pleaseeee?" Elizabeth begged. "Of course not. He is not a toy." Octavia responded strictly. 

"Aaaaaawwww." Elizabeth dejectedly sighed and left the room along with Nicolas and Octavia. [I will remember this, sister.] With those last words, Noah fell asleep once again.


	3. Chapter 3

It has been a year since Noah was born. Before, he was incapable of fully controlling his body. But now, he has finally adjusted. [Excellent. There are no problems anymore. Now to proceed to the next step.] Noah released his mana sense outside the room. 

Seeing that his sister is outside with her friends, and his pregnant mother chatting with the other noblewomen, he relaxed. 

[Looks like Timothy is coming soon. If I remember correctly, it should be about twenty days until he arrives.] Then, he sat in a meditating position. [Let's see now... What is this?] 

Upon looking at his soul he noticed something different. His soul, which should have been blue in color, was now golden, just like it was when he tried to ascend. 

Noah was pleasantly surprised. He didn't expect that his soul would remain golden in color. He didn't know what exactly this meant, but he was certain that this would lead him to some unexpected gains.

[Hmm... The soul orb is now back to it's small size. It's unfortunate, but expected.] After checking on his soul, he took a look at his soul orb. 

A soul orb is every Mage's mana container. Its size depends on the Rank of a Mage, and it expands in size the more one ascends in Rank. 

It has seven levels, one that people with talent in magic are born with, and other six that correspond to six Ranks one can achieve. In his past life, Noah's soul orb was the first level, and that allowed him to have inexhaustible amounts of mana in his body. 

Now though, his soul orb was at the lowest level. But Noah wasn't inconvenienced at all. This just meant that he had to watch out for his mana usage, just like in his first two hundred years of his past life. 

Still sitting in a meditating position, Noah began to absorb the surrounding mana in the air. The mana now rushed to his soul orb, and was stored inside. 

After filling up his soul orb to the brim, Noah opened his eyes and lied down in his cradle. [No matter how many times I think about it, I can never fully understand just how big of a cheat this technique of mine really is.] 

The technique that Noah used to absorb mana from his surroundings is his one and only self made technique. 

It was originally something that an ancient clan of assassins used over a couple thousand years ago. Noah found their technique in one of the ancient ruins that belonged to these assassins, and remade the technique for himself. 

[I'm going to have to go back to those ruins in this life again. This time I have to destroy them. If this technique is revealed to the world and remade in the way I have, the magicians of the world would gain a huge level in power. That must never be allowed.] Noah went back to sleep. It was enough for today. Starting from tommorow he would begin his training. 

Twenty days later... 

Noah heard the commotion coming from outside of his room. [Mother must be giving birth to Timothy.] He released his mana sense and looked at his mother's room. 

In there, his mother was in labor pains, and was being helped by the servants. In another room, the family butler finished writing a letter. 

He strapped the letter on a carrier hawk and let it fly out the window. Noah immediately knew that it was a letter addressed to his father. 

Elizabeth was now with the maids, and she looked a little flustered. The maids were trying to take her mind off her mother, and it seems that they were slowly succeeding. 

Noah didn't care about this anymore, and returned to his training. [I still have many years until school. In these years, I believe getting to the rank of Officer won't be a problem for me. I if I go by my previous life memory, the biggest geniuses in the school were all Paragon Ranks thanks to their excellent talents. 

That would make me the strongest there, huh.] Soon enough, the commotion quieted down, and the butler called Elizabeth over to Octavia. 

The girl excitedly ran into her mother's room and saw a new baby. The baby named Timothy was now sleeping on his mother's buxom. 

Days continued passing, and Noah wasted his time either endlessly training or observing the rest of the household. And for the second time, his father Nicolas arrived home in a hurry. He hugged his wife and daughter and proceeded to Timothy's room. 

This time, upon seeing him, Timothy began crying in fear so Octavia had to calm him down. Nevertheless, Nicolas wasn't angry nor surprised, after all, this was to be expected of a child. 

But this only made him further surprised by Noah's first reaction to his aura. Elizabeth also greeted the newly born Timothy and played with his small hands. 

This warm family scene Noah observed with a cold, desinterested look before he continued his magic training. What he found out is one effect of his soul turning gold in color. 

He found out that the efficiency of his mana absorbtion has increased to a much bigger level than before. If he were to continue like this, he might achieve the Officer Rank faster than he thought. With nothing else to do, Noah proceeded to further his magic training.


	4. Chapter 4

Four years had now passed. Timothy, now at the age of three, was an energetic child who would constantly run around the manor looking for anything fun to do. 

He would pester the maids, run around in the garden, observe the knights that kept the Wimbeldon estate safe... But most of all, he would constantly cling to his sister Elizabeth and his brother Noah. 

He created no small trouble for both of them. "Hey, big brother Noah, can you read me this book, please? It's about knights!" "Big brother, let's go outside and play!" 

"Big brother, can you tell me a good night story? I can't fall asleep." Needless to say, Timothy greatly valued Noah, and would always come to him when he found something new or when he was bored.

Noah would always do anything Timothy asked of him, and seeing this, Octavia and the servants would always think that the two brothers are bonding well, and this left a smile on their faces.

What they didn't know though, was that Noah really wanted to just snap Timothy's neck and leave his body in the woods so that the wild beasts eat it. 

Thanks to Timothy's constant pestering, Noah's free time, which was usually spent on reading every book in the family library, began shrinking. 

[Haaaaahhh. What a waste of precious time. I just got rid of studying and learning manners, dancing and history. And now I can't even be left alone.] 

Noah could only internally sigh in helplessness. The only thing he did apart from eating, sleeping and magic training was reading books which he didn't read in his previous life. 

This was a perfect opportunity to further increase and cement his knowledge, but now he had to babysit Timothy. 

[I really just want to say no, but if I do that I'm afraid that mother would send me off to some noble children gathering or something like that. I can't even begin to count how many times she's told me to go out and make some friends from the children of my generation.]

"Big brother, can you show me what this is?" This time, Timothy brought Noah a book on which it said: "The History of Eukris". "Oh, it's a history book. How unusual of you to pick up something other than children's stories about knights." 

"Well, it has a lot of colorful pictures." Timothy responded with a smile as he handed the book to Noah. 

[Of course, I should have expected as much from a child.] "So, you want me to read it for you, is that right?" "Yes!" Timothy excitedly replied and dragged Noah off outside. 

"Are we yet again going to that tree?" Noah asked, and Timothy fiercely nodded. "Yes, yes, I love when you read me a book under that tree. It's the best place for reading a book in the entire world!" 

Noah didn't share Timothy's enthusiasm. [It's a horrible place for reading a book.] Nevertheless, Noah allowed himself to be pulled outside. 

It was now summer. The sun shined brightly, the chirping of birds filled the surroundings and the people that worked outside were in a good mood. 

Timothy was on very good terms with the servants because he always preferred being outside and spending time around them. 

Noah remembered that he was also like that in the first years of his life. A primitive existence stuck in his own little bubble, not aware of the wast and cruel world that layed outside. 

After greeting the gardener and the guards, Timothy and Noah arrived in front of a relatively big tree that was a little farther from the manor. 

The two of them sat in the shadow of the tree and Timothy immediately urged Noah to begin reading the book. "Alright, alright, how about I browse the pages and you tell me what you want me to read for you?" "Mm, mm." Timothy nodded. 

Noah began browsing the pages of the thick book, and once Timothy pointed at a picture of a woman colored in yellow light, he asked. "Big brother, this lady is very pretty, who is she?" 

"She is the goddess Arumenia, the creator of the world. It is said that she created this world over many millennia ago. She is also the object of worship of the Church of light, the most widespread religious organization on the continent." Noah answered. 

He then looked at Timothy's face which expressed confusion. He couldn't take all that information in all at once. "Moving on." 

Noah didn't care about that and proceeded to move on to the next page. When he flipped the page, a map that spread over both pages greatly captivated Timothy's interest. 

"Woooww, what is all this? There's so many castles around." "This is a map of all the kingdoms on the continent. This here is our kingdom, the Lidour kingdom." 

Noah explained as he pointed out the Lidour kingdom, surrounded by four other kingdoms. Timothy wanted to know what these other kingdoms were, so Noah further explained all the kingdoms that exist on the continent. 

"These kingdoms surrounding our borders are Akhulan Kingdom, Adrodal Kingdom, Prisilba Kingdom and Brabet Kingdom. There is also Kitteothia Kingdom, but they are further away. There are five human kingdoms in total on this continent, including ours. We mostly occupy the western side of the continent, while the other races occupy the eastern side. Did you understand?" 

"Kinda." Timothy scratched his head. "But, big brother, what did you mean when you said "mostly occupy"? Don't we occupy the entire side? It's drawn here that we do." "Forget about that, I just wrongly expressed myself." Noah immediately replied.

[There's no way that humans could control the entire side of the continent. They are simply too weak to do so. But then again, the other races wouldn't fare any better if the secrets of the west were released.] Noah remembered how he traveled the continent under various guises and identities for a hundred or so years.

On his travels, he found many world shaking existences on both sides of the world. He barely escaped from their clutches many times and was always horribly injured by them. 

"Young lords, it's time for lunch. The lady sent me to escort you back." A man in his sixties interrupted Noah's thoughts. "Ah, I see. Please do so, Marcus." Noah replied politely while getting up. "Of course, young lord." 

Marcus is the Wimbeldon family butler. The most trusted man of Nicolas, he usually helps Octavia with managing the Wimbeldon family territory, which occupies over a dozen villages and a city while Nicolas is working in the army as a general. He is a friendly, chubby old man with grey hair and moustache.

After returning to the manor, Noah and Timothy sat in the dining room, a wide decorated room with a chandelier and a long table in the middle. Octavia was sitting on the left side of the table and was getting served by the maids. 

Timothy sat next to his mother, while Noah sat on the opposite side of the table. "It appears that senior sister hasn't returned from her visit yet?" 

Noah asked formally, with no interest. "Oh she has, she is now bathing. Would you believe that one of her friends used earth magic to prank her and throw her into a mud puddle? Really, what a weird lady that girl is." 

Octavia replied, but not in anger, just in surprise. "I see." Noah answered with no interest, and began eating his meal. Octavia carefully observed his table manners, and she was greatly surprised. 

[My son uses the fork and the knife just like an experienced old noble. How strange. I even heard that he mastered polite speech and mannerisms in a single day, and he even knew how to dance before the teacher even began the lesson. I remember that Elizabeth took months to learn and master these things. 

But I've never seen him practice, all he does is read books all day either in his room or in the library. Did he perhaps read a book on manners? But I don't think we have a book like that in the library...] 

"Mother, what's wrong? Your food will go cold." Noah noticed her look on him and decided to stop it. "Ah, silly me. Though I wish you would call me mom like Timothy and Elizabeth. Mother makes me sound old." Octavia replied. "Surely you jest, mother. Out of all the noblewomen your beauty is truly unique." 

Noah put on a fake polite smile and responded. "You little rascal, where did you learn to flatter like that. Did you start reading romance novels?" "Of course not, mother." 

[Such books are a pointless waste of time, after all.] "Anyway, I have thought of sending you to one of the noble children gatherings." Upon hearing those words, Noah inwardly sighed. 

"I see. I better prepare myself then." "Oh? You took that better than I expected. I thought you would refuse and that I would have to force you to go." 

Octavia sounded surprised. "When do I go?" "Next week, there will be a birthday party at the Noscrim house. Their daughter is now celebrating her fifth birthday. 

It would be good for you to go and socialize a bit. Get yourself some friends, you're spending too much time in the house." [I knew it. Just like in my previous life, it's the Noscrim family again.] 

Noah felt annoyed, but could do nothing. When his mother is determined about something, only Nicolas can ever talk her out of something. Noah gave up, and continued eating his meal.


	5. Chapter 5

It was now afternoon. The Wimbeldon family carriage arrived in front of the Noscrim family manor, and from the carriage exited Noah and Elizabeth Wimbeldon. 

The Noscrim family butler politely greeted them and led them into the garden behind the house. Over there, many noble children were now conversing with each other and congratulating a five year old girl next to a six year old boy. 

Both the boy and the girl had blue hair and light blue eyes. [The characteristics of the Noscrim family truly are interesting. I wonder, is it a special composition?] 

Noah and Elizabeth approached the two Noscrim children. "I am Noah Wimbeldon, of the Wimbeldon family house. I wish you a happy birthday, lady Marie." "And I am Elizabeth Wimbeldon. 

I also wish you a happy birthday, lady Marie." The two politely bowed. "Thank you for attending my birthday party. You grace me with your presence." The girl, Marie, lightly lifted her skirt up while her older brother silently bowed. 

After their greetings, the Noscrim family children continued speaking to other noble children. "Listen up now, little brother. I want you to go around and talk to others. No hiding in the corner alright?" Elizabeth warned Noah. "Sister, I'll be fine. You go and have some fun." Noah responded. 

"And make at least one friend, understood? Mother will give me an earful if she finds out." "Aren't you exaggerating? Surely she wouldn't do so just because of something so small?" 

"You don't know because you aren't a part of the noble circle, but there have been a lot of questions about you from other nobles. It's becoming quite tedious really." 

Elizabeth sighed. [So you're just annoyed about being pestered.] Soon enough, Elizabeth warned Noah again about hiding in the corner before she was dragged away by other noble ladies. 

Noah was left alone, and was also approached by many noble children who now saw him for the first time. He was asked a lot of questions about himself and was also forced to listen to many introductions of other nobles. 

After about an hour or so, he was finally free. [If I'm going to try and make friends, I need to choose someone who shares my interests. But how do I find someone like that?] 

Noah began walking around the garden making small talk with other children, but he found no one who shared any interest in books. After around half an hour he talked to almost everyone present, but to no avail. 

[This is proving harder than I thought possible. The only things these people have interest in is clothes, good food and sucking up to others. I should just resign myself and try another time.] Noah sighed dejectedly. Just then, a strange feeling crawled all over his skin. 

Noah's eyes opened in great surprise, and he immediately excused himself to the bathroom. Once inside, he locked himself in and released his mana sense. 

Soon he saw the entire mansion, both inside and outside. The noble children didn't notice anything, and just continued on with their party. 

However, what stunned Noah was what he saw on the second floor of the manor. One of the rooms on the second floor was completely frozen in ice. 

The ice covered every bit of the room, including the furniture and the toys. On the frozen bed, a six year old girl lied. She was constantly shaking, and her cheeks were blushed as if she had a fever. 

Outside her room, a man with blue hair and eyes walked back and forth with a worried look on his face. Noah immediately knew who he was. 

The head of the house Noscrim, the prime minister Roland Noscrim. [What is this? How is this possible?] Noah was completely flabbergasted. He knew who the girl lying on the frozen bed was. 

[Anastasia Noscrim, one of the most famous and powerful students who will attend the same magic school as me in the future. A black sheep of the Noscrim family.]

The reason why all the Noscrim family members have blue hair and eyes is because they all possess a huge talent in water magic from birth. 

But Anastasia is different. In the future, she will be so extremely talented in the ice element that she will earn the nickname "The Ice Fairy". 

[So she possesses the ice veins composition. This explains everything.] The ice veins composition is a type of unimaginable talent one can be born with. If one possesses the ice veins, they become unchallenged in the field of ice. 

However, if one doesn't grow used to the ice veins, they will explode and die in their early years. [But the Noscrim family shouldn't have knowledge of the ice veins. So how did Anastasia end up unharmed in the future?] 

As Noah was pondering about this issue, he suddenly noticed two horsemen entering his sight. One of them was a Noscrim family servant while the other one was an old man with a beard and a bag around his waist.

[Oh, so they called an Alchemist. A waste of effort.] Noah observed the conversation between Roland Noscrim and the Alchemist. Roland begged the old man for help, promising him anything in return. The old Alchemist nodded and entered Anastasia's room. 

He was shocked by the frozen room, but he quickly arrived to Anastasia's side and began observing her condition. After noticing that she only has a fever, the old Alchemist fell into deep thought. 

In the end, he gave up. He explained to Roland that there was nothing he could do and excused himself. Roland was devastated. 

[The Noscrim family head seems quite desperate. With that level of desperation, just who did he ask in the future to heal his daughter? Whoever it is, he has to be really knowledgeable.] A smile appeared on Noah's face.

[Looks like I have something to return to in the future.] Noah pulled back his mana sense and exited the bathroom in good mood. After the birthday party ended, Elizabeth noticed that Noah was behaving differently than usual. 

"Noah, you seem to be in good mood. Did you find yourself a friend?" "No." Noah answered, his thoughts elsewhere. "Oh noooo. Mom is going to kill me." 

"Such things don't matter." Noah answered. "Be quiet. Why are you so happy, anyway?" "Something interesting happened sister." [And I can't wait to see it until the end.]


	6. Chapter 6

Winter came, and grand duke Nicolas Wimbeldon was now returning to his estate. The snow was falling slowly, covering the road and the surrounding forest white. Nicolas rode on his personal horse, which he named Percival. 

The horse was a beautiful black steed, covered in many scars as a sign of many battles it survived. There were also two more people travelling with Nicolas. They fell a little behind, and were now trying to catch up to him. 

"Nicolas, slow down already! Your estate won't grow legs and run away! Wait for us!" A fat middle aged man in armor yelled out to Nicolas. 

"What are you blaming me for, Robert. Who told you to carry so much food and wine on you. I'm surprised your horse isn't dead already." Nicolas replied with a smirk. 

"Screw you! How could I possibly leave behind so many delicacies behind? Do you know just how many bottles of fine wine are in here!?" 

The fat man gently patted a large green bag that was resting on his side. The bag was completely swollen. "That poor horse. I truly pity the fact that it has to carry your fat ass." 

The other horseman spoke. He too was around the same age as Nicolas and Robert, and boasted a fine moustache and beard. 

"Oh shut up, Albert, you weeping willow. You look as if a corpse was strapped to a horse." Albert's look was completely opposite to Robert's. While Robert was fat and short, Albert was slim and tall. 

"Hoho, at least my horse is faster than yours. You're the slowest one here. That said, Nicolas, it really would be better to slow down and set up camp for tonight. The sun is setting, and it's only going to get colder." Albert said. 

"Alright, alright, I was just joking around with our dear fatty here. I also planned to set up camp around now." Nicolas replied, slowing down his horse to match the speed of the others horses. 

"Humph, calling me fatty. Don't think you're getting any of the wonders I hold here." Robert said resentfully. 

"As if you'd actually share, you damn cheapskate. I cannot believe that this is how a person with a title of Duke behaves. If I didn't know that, I would've thought you were someone's poor servant!" Albert replied. The men set up their camp and tied the horses to a tree. 

"Now all that's left is the fire. It's a darn shame we don't have someone with a fire element with us." Robert sighed. "I'll collect the wood." Nicolas replied and walked up to a tree. 

He focused the mana inside his soul orb into his hand, and punched the tree. His fist went through the tree like paper, and with crackling sounds the tree fell to the ground. 

Some time later, the three men sat by the camp fire and talked. Soon enough, the they arrived at the topic of their children. "Ah, my Junior is growing so well. He's already at the age where appreciates all the fine pleasures that I enjoy. Honestly, I couldn't be more proud." Robert exclaimed. 

"My daughter is also training with diligence. It seems like she really has passion for archery. She has already learned everything I taught her. Even if she doesn't develop external release of magic, she can still succeed me in the army." 

Albert also had a proud look on his face, and he happily twirled his moustache. "What about your kid? I think he was called Noah, right?" Robert turned his head to Nicolas. 

"Ah yes, I remember that you were in quite the good mood when he was born. I take it he's a smart one?" Albert also looked at Nicolas with interest. "Yes, he's... definitely a smart kid." 

Nicolas replied with a barely noticeable pause between his words, but it was still noticeable enough for two dukes to catch on that something was weird. 

"What is it? Is he a trouble maker?" Robert asked. "No, no, it's just... would you believe me if I told you that he completed all of his lessons in both manners and dancing in a single day?" Nicolas looked at the two of them and asked. 

Both Albert and Robert looked at Nicolas for a moment before smiling. "Of course we wouldn't. What do you take us for, fools? No one can do something like that, much less a child." "Don't tell me you're actually serious?" 

They looked at Nicolas expecting that he was going to laugh and admit he joked around, but on the contrary, what they saw was his serious face. "Wait, you can't be serious..." "You mean he really did?" Nicolas nodded. 

Silence ensued for a while, as the two dukes needed to process this impossible truth. After a while, they both sighed. "Just as you'd expect of the Wimbeldon blood. Looks like we have an another monster in our kingdom." 

"Indeed. It just keeps setting the bar up again and again." Nicolas smirked. "Do you know what else he did?" The two of them looked at Nicolas with surprise. "There's more?" 

"He immediately told the teacher to give him the hardest test he could on the first day of his studies, and he completed it with a perfect score. Not a single wrong or half correct answer. The teacher was stunned and told my wife that the test he gave him was on the level the magic academy's third year." 

The two dukes looked at Nicolas with such an expression one might think their eyes would fall out of their sockets. Something like this was unheard of. 

Even the greatest geniuses of the past would know only a grade above them, yet Nicolas just exclaimed that his son knew three grades above what should be possible.

"Nicolas, I get that he's a genius, but I can't help but think that you're making things up now." "I agree. That really is a bit too much." "Do you know what else he did?" Nicolas continued with a smirk on his face, not minding the two. 

"There's more!?" Robert yelled out in disbelief. "When he was a baby, he didn't cry when I picked him up. He wasn't affected by my aura at all and he simply looked back at me completely calm and unmoved." 

"Alright, NOW you're just shamelessly making things up!!! How big of a fool do you think I am, that you can make up something that impossible?!" Robert was now angry. 

He thought that Nicolas really enjoyed himself making them believe such ridiculous things. "Calm down, Robert. But I do understand him. Frankly, I don't believe you as well, Nicolas. What you just said is a bit too unrealistic. Nevermind the other things, which I'm still having a very hard time believing, what you just said is by itself completely inconceivable. As you already know, it's-" 

"Alright, alright, I understand. It's getting late now, we should go to sleep and get going early tomorrow." Nicolas interrupted Albert and went into his tent. Albert and Robert sighed, then went inside their tents as well. 

Inside of the Wimbeldon manor, Noah opened his eyes and got out of his meditating. [My soul orb grew again. If I continue like this, I'll reach the Officer Rank before my entrance to school.] 

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. [Luckily, nothing of importance will happen until my fifteenth birthday. This leaves me a lot of time.] Noah lied on his bed and began sleeping.


	7. Chapter 7

Years passed like hours. Noah spent most of his time reading books and meditating to absorb enough mana into his soul orb. He had been to more noble gatherings, but Noah didn't know any of those people from his previous life so he didn't find anything interesting. 

He was also reprimanded multiple times since he still didn't find a single friend. But luckily for him, Octavia could never exactly punish or force him to. After all, he was a genius of the household, so if she forced him in any way he might rebel and quit his studies.

This gave Octavia constant headaches, but she could do nothing but lightly reprimand him here and there. 

[The noble society is such an annoyance. How bored do you have to be to criticize a person just because he wants to be by himself. If not for me being an uneducated and ignorant child in my past life, I would've already faked my death and moved out into the world.]

Noah was now in his room. It was night out, and he was now in deep meditation. After around half an hour later, his body now shined a golden light as many small particles of light flew out of his body all around the room. 

A satisfied smile appeared on Noah's lips. "Finally, today I have become an Officer of magic." Noah was really happy right now. 

In his past life it took him many years to achieve the rank of Officer, while now he already is one, and he didn't even go to a magic school! 

[This makes everything easier. Apart from the headmaster, all teachers in the school are paragon rank. I will be capable of freely moving around unhindered.] Noah remembered the magic school in which he will be studying. 

The Hebrion academy, the most prestigious school in the capital of the Lidour kingdom. A school that has produced many geniuses in the past, including a few kings. 

[The amount of useful knowledge in that place has to be incredible. If in this life I take the path of a genius, I believe even the restricted areas of the school library will be open to me.] 

Noah now suppressed his power from leaking out. It wouldn't be a good thing if his family knew his true rank. Then, he lied on the bed and slept. 

In the morning, with loud thumping sounds, followed by the doors to Noah's room being loudly bust open, Timothy ran inside. "Big brother Noah! Happy birthday!" 

Timothy saw Noah sitting on a chair, reading another one of his books. "Hm? Oh, little brother. Hey there." Noah didn't even turn around to look at Timothy, he just continued reading his book. 

"Oh come on big brother, you can't just read your book all day. Don't you know what day it is today?" "I do." Noah responded calmly with no interest. Timothy was already used to this treatment so he just moved on. 

"Look what I have. It's a present for you!" He put something on Noah's table next to him. "Hm? Oh, a magic staff. How nice of you little brother." [I would've preferred books.] 

The magic staff Timothy gave him was white in color and had a gem at the top of the staff. It looked pretty plain, but that was not the case. It was actually one of the more expensive magic staffs that one can buy in the capital. 

"I went with mom and dad to the capital to buy this for you. I hope you like it and that it will come in handy to you when you attend school." Timothy earnestly said. 

"I'm sure it will." [Very unlikely. I guess I can still sell it in the future though.] "Oh, and mom and dad also bought you something. And Elizabeth as well. She also wrote you a letter alongside the gift." Timothy continued. 

"I see." "So, with that said, come! Let's go downstairs and have breakfast. The servants are also preparing the dance hall where you'll be celebrating your birthday." "Alright, alright, don't pull me." After coming downstairs, Noah was hugged and kissed all over by Octavia. 

"Happy birthday Noah! My baby boy is now all grown up!" "Thank you, mother." "Here, this is my present for you." Octavia released Noah and pointed at a bunch of books that stood on the table. 

[Oh?] Noah's interest was peaked, and he immediately inspected the books on the table. But soon enough, he sighed inside. [I can't believe that she bought me books on how to make friends... What idiot with too much time on his hands wrote this?] 

Nicolas coughed a few times. It was now his turn to give a present to Noah. He gave him a bundle of books and just said "For you." 

Noah looked at his books and sighed in disappointment again. [Books on economics and military related stuff. The military ones might prove useful if I'm fighting against an army, but the economy related ones are completely useless.] 

"Thank you, respected father." Noah put on a fake grateful smile and respectfully bowed to Nicolas. 

Nicolas accepted the gesture, but he found it weird how Noah not even once since he was born called him "dad". Though, he soon forgot about that. 

Now, all that was left was one more bundle of books, and a letter on top of it. Noah opened the letter addressed to him by Elizabeth, who was currently studying in the Hebrion academy. After reading the letter, Noah was disappointed for the final time. 

[More books about how to behave in society. It would be a complete waste of time reading this shit.] After breakfast, Noah was led away by maids who helped him get dressed for his big event. 

Noah didn't want to celebrate his birthday, but this was something unavoidable for a young noble. The fifteenth birthday was an incredibly special event. 

It is the day a noble child officially grows up and enters society. Having nothing else to do, Noah read some of the books he was gifted while waiting. In the late afternoon, the guests began showing up. 

Noah and Timothy stood in the dance hall where they would greet the noble children, while the guardians of the children had a separate room for themselves. 

The first ones to arrive were the children of Robert and Albert, Nicolas's close friends. "I am Robert Donell jr. of the Donell family house. I wish you a happy birthday, lord Noah." 

A fat boy with a harmless look stepped forward first and greeted Noah. "I am Olivia Windway, of the Windway family house. I wish you a happy birthday, mr. Noah." 

A girl of the same age as Noah and Robert Jr. followed up. She wore a green dress, and had her brown hair tied up in a ponytail. "Thank you for attending my birthday. You truly grace me with your presence." 

Noah replied while remembering the identity of the two. [The children of father's close friends from the army. Just like in my previous life, these guys were the first to arrive. How unfortunate. I really don't want to be associated with these two.] 

Noah observed the two. Olivia was now formally standing in place like a soldier, while Robert jr. began making small talk with Noah and Timothy. 

Noah was now on guard. He knew that, while Robert Jr. might look like a weak, helpless, friendly fat boy, he was actually a merciless, sadistic, ambitious and cunning villain. 

Noah remembered the event that he heard while he was on the run in his first hundred years. Robert jr. actually instigated a coup d'etat and took over the Lidour kingdom, renaming the country to Lidour empire and making himself emperor. 

Although his reign wasn't long, only about fifty years, it still spoke of his ability and cunning. [I should be careful near him. If I say something wrong next to him, I might create a powerful enemy in the future.] 

As more guests showed up, Noah felt better. More people present meant he would be further away from Robert Jr. He also remembered some information about Olivia. 

In the future, it will be found out that she can't discharge magic, and will be placed in a different section of the school meant for her. After school she will go to the army where she will earn herself a good position, only to die later on in a mission. 

Noah also knew that Timothy would, in the future, fall in love with her while in the army, but he didn't care. The whole evening passed by agonizingly slowly for him, and Noah was finally relieved when everyone left. 

Tommorow morning, he received a letter of acceptance from the Hebrion academy. After reading the letter, a smile crept on his face. [This is it. The turning point. This new path I chose might just create more trouble for me, but it's all worth it.]


	8. Chapter 8

Autumn arrived. The huge capital of Lidour kingdom was dyed in various colourful leaves that were carried by the wind. In the capital, an imposing building stood tall. 

In front of the building stood a metal gate, with gold letters carved on the wall that said: "The Hebrion academy". Right now the metal gate was open, and rows of students were pouring inside the academy's front courtyard towards the building. 

In front of the rows of students stood six teachers, and they checked the validity of every invitation the students have on them. Once that was over, the students would be instructed to go to the convention hall inside the academy building. 

Noah was now currently waiting for his turn in line while observing everyone with his mana sense. [Yes, indeed. The strongest person here is the same as me. Moving around will be quite easy.] 

Noah thought to himself, satisfied. Once he was led to the convention hall, he took a random seat and decided to wait. The convention hall was a huge room filled with seats for over four hundred people. 

Apart from the seats, there was also a wide stage on which five teachers stood, alongside a bald, muscly man. The man looked like a veteran in the army and had a scar that stretched all across his face. However, he also wore a soft, gentle smile on his face as if he was a priest in a church. 

The bald man was well known by the students sitting in the chairs, as they excitedly whispered about him. "Hey, look, it's headmaster Victor!" "Yes, I know him. To think that he would be teaching us, I'm honored." 

Noah spared the headmaster a glance before once again closing his eyes in wait. [No threat.] Noah began looking for familiar faces from his past life with his mana sense. Upon finding nine individuals, he pulled back his mana sense and just continued waiting. 

Fifteen minutes later, the headmaster saw that everyone was inside and opened his mouth. "Students of Hebrion academy, welcome!" His voice roared throughout the entire hall. 

"I am glad to see you here in such numbers. I hope that many, if not all of you will grow up to become splendid magicians in the future!" [Oh no, now I have to listen to the whole speech again. And what's more, he speaks so slow...] Noah was bored. 

He already remembered the speech down to the letter from his previous life, but now he was forced to listen to it again with no way of hurrying up the old headmaster. 

"As some of you may know, the Hebrion academy is split into two buildings that each have four floors. One building is for magicians, who excel in releasing magic, and the other one is for warriors, people who collect magic inside their body and enhance their physical capabilities." The headmaster explained.

"Apart from the buildings meant for studying, we have a cantina where you'll be served meals, a tournament coliseum where you can spar with each other to increase your rank, a school library where you can go and study for your exams, dorms where you'll be living from now and even a swimming pool where you can go and relax your minds after studying." Victor said, and all the other students were greatly interested. 

"Wow, isn't this really nice? We'll live like nobles!" Some commoner students whispered amongst themselves. [Looks like someone is in for a surprise. This isn't a top magic school in the capital for nothing.] 

"Also, I represent the entire teacher's council in declaring the prohibition of bullying others for or using one's social status. Such behavior here is unacceptable and will be harshly punished by the school. I hope you understood." Victor added, and Noah heard some noble students click their tongues in annoyance. 

"Ah yes, you will be given weekends off to spend them as you like. However, if any student makes trouble outside the academy the academy will not help him. You are responsible for your own actions. Also, if the students aren't home by their curfew they will be punished by the academy. If a student breaks academy rules he will again be punished."

"Now, let us move on to your first exam this year." On Victor's words, a teacher brought in a small pedestal with a crystal ball on it and placed it in the middle of the stage. 

"The only thing you have to do is come on the stage when we call out your name and place your hand on the crystal ball, and pour your mana inside it. Once you do that we'll know what kind of talent you possess and where you belong. After all the students finish the test, we'll assign each of you a rank on the school ranking billboard."

"The school ranks are number based, and you are capable of changing the number of your rank by beating a student of a higher rank in a duel. With that said, I wish you luck. We will now begin calling out your names." 

The headmaster finished his speech, and was given a generous round of applause by the students. "Student Noah Wimbeldon, you are the first!" A teacher called out, and everyone fell silent. [Finally. I've grown tired of waiting.] 

Noah stood up from his spot and walked up the stairs on the stage. As he was walking, a scene from the past began playing in front of him. He remembered how excited his past self was at this test. 

He could see the past him running up the stairs in excitement and expectation, hoping to earn himself a high rank. "Oh hey, that's Noah Wimbeldon, the son of the Grand Duke." 

"Considering the family he comes from, he must be really talented." "Yea, his father is a general in the army. Maybe he'll become a General Rank magician or enhancer in the future as well?" 

Noah once again heard these same whispers, just like in his past life. His imaginary past self felt pride upon hearing these words, and he placed his hand on the crystal ball and poured in his mana. 

However, contrary to his and everyone's expectations, the ball only released a pitifully small light. After a few moments of surprise, the past Noah was hit hard with reality. "Fire, attribute, F rank talent." 

The past Noah was so shocked all color drained from his face. To add salt to the wound, the other students began laughing at him while barely trying to hide the smiles. "W-why... F rank? This can't be happening. I'm supposed to help my family in the future..." 

Noah walked past his despairing imaginary self and continued walking while the illusion disappeared. [You poor, deluded creature. I truly pity you. No wonder you failed. You never had any ambition for yourself. But I truly have to thank you. If it were not for your depression that caused you to get kicked out of the family, I would've never come into existence.] 

Noah arrived in front of the crystal ball and placed his hand on it. Without any care, he poured in enough mana to rival a paragon rank into it. 

Suddenly, blinding red light shone through the entire hall. "What?!" Everyone was caught off guard by the light, and while their eyes were getting used to it, they heard a cracking sound followed by a small explosion. 

The light immediately disappeared, and the only thing left was Noah with his hand in mid air, right where the crystal ball was supposed to be. The floor was covered in crystalline debris. 

For a few seconds, silence enveloped the entire hall. Then, someone finally opened his mouth. "What... just happened?" Soon enough, the students made an uproar. "Holy crap, he broke the crystal ball!!!!" "No way, that's impossible for a student to do! Even if he was a fourth year student, that's still impossible!" 

"This is the first time in history something like this has happened! Just how did he do that?" "He's a genius! Only a pure genius can have this much mana inside his body!" "Dear Goddess, this is a historical moment!!" Shouts and screams of surprise filled the hall. 

Suddenly, the teachers came to their senses. "Silenceeee!!!!!" The headmaster Victor yelled at the top of his lungs, and the students calmed down, but there were still explosions going off inside their heads. 

Victor lightly coughed, and signalled to the teachers what to do. "Ah? Oh, yes... Noah Wimbeldon, A rank talent, fire attribute." Noah lightly nodded and walked down the stairs to his spot. 

Everyone directed gazes at him, and some tried to talk to him but to no avail. Noah closed his eyes and waited for the one individual who he set his eyes on to come up the stage. After some time, it finally happened. "Anastasia Noscrim, you're next." 

A beautiful girl with long white hair stood up from her seat and walked up the stage, mesmerizing many boys with her beauty all the while. Once she poured her mana into the crystal ball, a light blue, cold light illuminated the hall. 

"Wooow. It's the ice element! And it's so bright!" "So beautiful!" The students again made some noise. "Anastasia Noscrim, Ice Element, A rank talent." Anastasia lightly nodded and quickly moved back to her seat. 

A momentary smile flashed across Noah's face. [Just as I'd expect of the ice veins. This means that she indeed was fixed by someone. I cannot wait to find out who it was.] Noah didn't care about the rest of the students taking the test. 

Some time later, he was led by a teacher to his room on the top floor of the dorms. "You'll be sharing the room with three more students, all the same rank as you. I hope you all get along." "Thank you, professor." Noah thanked the teacher and went inside his room. 

The room was spacious, much more than the one Noah remembered in his past life. There was enough place for three beds, three desks and night cabinets alongside bookshelves meant for the student's books. 

On each bed laid a school uniform fit perfectly for every student. Apart from that, Noah found out that this room actually had it's own toilet, unlike the lower floors which only had public toilets. 

Noah chose the bed next to the window and began unpacking his belongings. As he was doing that, the doors opened and two people came inside the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Two young men entered the room. One was handsome and tall with blond hair while the other one was a bit shorter and also had red hair. When the two of them saw Noah, they looked at him with surprise for a moment. 

Noah looked back at them, and this created an uncomfortable silence. Finally, the blond haired student lightly coughed and stepped in front of Noah with his hand outstretched. 

"I didn't think that someone would beat us to the room. I'm Thomas Green, nice to meet you." "Noah Wimbeldon." Noah said as he shook his hand. "Mm. This mute guy here is Mark." Thomas pointed at the other student who was standing behind him. 

"Nice to meet you." Mark said, a little taken aback. "Don't mind him, he's not weird, he's still under shock of what you did earlier." "No problem." 

Noah answered while sitting on his bed. After the introductions were over, the three students continued unpacking their bags. 

The three didn't speak too much with each other since no one attempted a conversation. Soon, a sound of bells rang throughout the dorms. 

"Oh, it's time for dinner. Good, I was beginning to starve." Mark said. "You and me both. I just wonder if there are going to be any pretty ladies over there." 

Noah walked behind them in silence. He was now wearing the Hebrion academy uniform, a blue shirt with white buttons and a small insignia with a lion on his left side, coupled with black pants. 

The dorms were split in two halves, one reserved for the boys and another one for girls. The students would exit the building by a shared staircase, so they were now mashed up into a single line. 

As the students were talking amongst each other while descending the stairs, they noticed three students that stood out from the rest. When they noticed them, everyone moved to one side to clear the path for the three students. 

They also closely observed them and whispered among themselves. "Hey, look, three rank A students." "Wow, they look so cool!" "That blonde haired one looks handsome." Said one female student. 

"That brown haired one is also quite good looking." Another girl added. "It's him! The son of the Grand Duke, Noah Wimbeldon!" 

As Noah was walking down the stairs, he noticed that all normal students kept their distance from him and the two guys in front of him. 

They were observing them with admiration. The students whispered amongst themselves as quietly as they could, but Noah still heard them loud and clear. However, his mind was now elsewhere. 

[Thomas Green, a son of a count, and Mark, a commoner. Both of them will be on the top ten list in the academy, in eight and seventh place. After graduation, Thomas will become a court mage, while Mark will will join the military and become a promising young captain. But unfortunately, that's all I actually know of them. My past self dropped out of the academy in the second year, and spent his days at home isolated in his room.]

Noah stopped caring about the two and shifted his thoughts elsewhere while proceeding to go into the cantina. While the rest of the students proceeded to the entrance on the first floor, Noah, Mark and Thomas went up the stairs to the second floor. 

The second floor was more luxurious than the first one, and it looked more like an expensive hotel than a school floor. It was a privilege that A rank talents and the top ten students on the list had. 

The three entered inside and were greeted by a beautifully decorated room with a large table and ten chairs. Seven chairs were already taken by the rest of the A rank students present. "You guys are late! We saved you some food." 

A green haired girl called out to Thomas and Mark. "Sorry, sorry, we arrived late to our room." Thomas responded with a smile. Noah sat on his chair and began eating in silence. 

[The important thing now is to gain access to the restricted area of the library. There were rumors that said that a demonic spellbook is guarded in that area. If that's so then I have to get it no matter the cost!] 

"...ey. Hey!" Noah heard someone calling out to him and he looked up. He saw everyone else looking at him. "Hm? What is it?" He asked. 

"Oh, you finally returned. I've been trying to get your attention for the past minute. We were introducing ourselves to each other. Now it's your turn." Thomas explained. "I see." Noah turned to face the rest of the A rank students. "I'm Noah Wimbeldon, nice to meet you." 

He then continued eating his meal in silence, while only sparing Anastasia a quick glance. [There's also a question of just how strong the person who fixed Anastasia is. Since I don't have any idea, I'm going to have to make some preparations. A few dark spells always come in handy. But unfortunately, I need materials.] 

"Noaaaahhh!!" "What is it?" Noah looked up for the second time and turned to Thomas. "Woah, you certainly live up to your reputation. It really is hard to talk to you." Thomas sighed. "Why would you talk to me?" Noah asked with clear disinterest. 

"Hmph, just as I'd expect of a Grand Duke's son. Are we not worthy of speaking with you?" Noah heard someone from the other side of the table. He saw a youth with orange hair and green eyes looking at him with an angry look. 

Noah immediately recognised him. [Creese Siley, a member of the viscount Siley family. I don't know why, but these fellows really dislike my family.] "Oh, it's just you." Noah looked at him for a moment before resuming his meal. 

"Ha!? Just me? What, do I don't deserve to speak with you or something?" Creese said in an annoyed, angry voice. "Oy, you scared? Say something!" [What obvious provocation. How primitive.] Noah finished his meal. 

"Why would I be?" Noah asked while getting up and preparing to leave. He looked at Creese but only got an angry look thrown back at him. Seeing as Creese had nothing else to say, Noah left without a word. 

Once Noah left the cantina, everyone else began chatting with each other. "Sheesh, wasn't that rude?" The green haired girl, called Maya, asked. "Hmph, I expected nothing less from him. Arrogant asshole." Creese answered. 

Thomas and Mark also found it strange that Noah left just like that, but they didn't care much about it. "He's powerful." A silver haired girl suddenly said. 

Everyone turned to look at her. "What do you mean, Alicia?" Maya asked her. "I have a strange feeling about him. I feel as though, if I fought him, it would result in a draw." Alicia said in a serious voice. 

"So it's arrogance caused by strength. Say, Alicia, how does he fare against me?" A young man spoke. He was handsome with short dark blue hair, coupled with piercing red eyes. "Not a chance. You're definitely stronger, Fabian." Alicia answered.

"You kidding me? You're the one with the biggest amount of experience in fighting here. How is he, a dandy, supposed to beat you?" "Yes, Fabian, here, you are the strongest student." 

Two people spoke almost simultaneously. They were both large, muscly young men that looked almost identical to one another. 

Both of them had a tanned skin and short fiery red hair. They were twins, and they were named Tywin and Tywon respectively. "Well, being too strong is kinda boring. I wouldn't mind some challenge here and there." Fabian replied to the two. 

While the rest of the top students chatted amongst themselves, Noah arrived to his room. [Already, a bunch of things changed. I'm also not too pleased with what the rest of A ranks are saying about me. It looks like I'll have to show them just how outmatched they are in the tournament.] 

Noah has already heard the entire previous discussion with his mana sense, but he didn't care. He quickly changed his clothes and went to sleep. He woke up at seven in the morning and hurried over to the cantina. 

There he ate breakfast and immediately after left for the class. On his way to the classroom he noticed the billboard with the list of the students ranking. As expected, his name was on the very top.

He arrived in the classroom. It was a big room filled with rows of seats, and in front of them was the teacher's desk and a school board. Noah was the first to arrive. He greeted the teacher politely and chose a seat for himself. 

The other students arrived just before eight, and class soon began. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Marsay, and I will be your teacher these next four years." A middle aged man with grey hair introduced himself, and the whole class greeted him back. 

"Mm, I see we have quite the amount of talented students this year." He glanced at Noah, Anastasia, Creese, Thomas, Mark and Maya. Nodding with satisfaction, he began writing on the school board. 

"Today, we'll be learning some basics. So, I will ask you: what is mana?" He looked at the students expecting an answer. 

Maya raised her hand in the air. "Mana is the source of magic in our world. It allows us to cast spells and perform all kinds of normally impossible deeds that help everyone around us." 

"Mm, good answer. Now, what is a magician?" This time, Thomas raised his hand. "A magician is a person who wields magic for the sake of bettering the lives of the weak, and to ensure their safety." 

"Mm, correct." Marsay replied. Noah paid no mind to the surroundings. He flipped the pages of the textbook he was given and read all of its contents in a matter of a few minutes. 

"Now, since you all already know such basic things, we will immediately skip to the second lesson. It is "Magic invocation". As you know, magicians require the knowledge of the spell's magic circle and they also have to have a clear image of the spell in their head."

"If they don't, the spell will malfunction and the magician may even suffer a backlash. This is extremely dangerous, so you should never try to use spells recklessly. Now, turn to page three. On it is a description of something called "Mana slash"."

"It is something that can be used by any magician regardless of attribute so I will be using that to determine the control you have over your mana. You will each come here and try to release your "mana slash" on this practice dummy." This time, Creese raised his hand in the air. 

"Teacher, I heard that some magicians that possess ranks are capable of using spells without invocation. Could you please demonstrate?" Creese's question was backed up by the other students. They too were interested in seeing such a thing.

"Alright. Watch carefully." Marsey answered and turned to face the dummy. "As a Paragon of magic, I command thee, Fire ball." With a simple and quick command, Marsey released a fire ball at the dummy, completely incinerating it. 

"Woooww, that was so quick." "So that's the power of a ranked magician." The students all looked at the destroyed dummy with astonishment. "Now, it's your turn. I'll call you here one by one, and you will try to damage the dummy with your mana." 

Marsey brought in another dummy and placed it on the last one's place. "First, Anastasia Noscrim!" Anastasia got up from her seat and arrived at a certain distance from the dummy. 

She concentrated for a minute and then she waved her hand at the dummy, creating a small, light blue slash that left a small mark on the dummy's torso. "Good. You have great potential for a beginner. You may return to your spot." 

Anastasia lightly bowed and sat back to her seat. After her, only the other A rank students even managed to injure the dummy. Everyone else failed at even conjuring the mana slash in their hand. 

Finally, only one student was left. "Noah Wimbeldon." Noah got up from his seat while being watched by everyone. 

They were wondering just how much damage was a person with so much mana like him going to do to the dummy. Noah arrived on his spot, and casually slashed the air with his hand. 

What followed was a big mana slash that cut apart the dummy in half and moved on to the wall behind, destroying a good portion of it and raising a cloud of dust. 

"What?!" Every student was extremely surprised at what just happened. However, teacher Marsey looked like his eyes would fall out of his sockets at any moment. 

[Instantly?! And such power! It even destroyed the wall behind it!] Noah silently bowed to Marsley in respect before he sat back on his seat. Everyone was stupefied at what just happened. 

Even the A ranks were stunned. Creese also showed a look of absolute disbelief, before replacing it with a look of anger. After a few minutes, Marsley was the first to say anything. "...Class dismissed."


	10. Chapter 10

On the Hebrion academy building's second floor stood an office. On the office door stood a nameplate that said: "Headmaster's office". 

Inside, headmaster Victor and a professor listened to professor Marsay who had an excited look on his face. The other professor was a tall, slim man with visible toned muscles under his clothes. 

His name was Paul, and he was a professor specialized for body enhancement. After Marsay finished speaking, Victor lightly nodded. 

"Indeed. I knew that this year would be special. To think that we would have such a talented student. We must certainly nurture him well. Marsey." Professor Marsey got up from his chair. "Yes, headmaster?" 

"Ask the student Noah Wimbeldon if he has anything that isn't to his liking. It's fine if you give him some preferential treatment." 

Marsay looked at the headmaster in surprise. "But headmaster, won't the other students complain?" "If they do, then they are free to challenge him for the first spot." 

Victor responded, and Marsay took his leave. Once they were alone, Victor took a sip of tea and turned his attention on to professor Paul. 

"What news do you bring, Paul?" The body enhancement professor smiled proudly. "A student from my class is also a magnificent talent."

"Oh? Do tell, do tell, what did he do?" Victor showed an interested expression. "He is a pure genius. He has already comprehended the method of collecting mana inside various parts of his body, and he can even freely switch mana from one spot to another. 

He is unbeatable in his class, and I'm convinced that he can even keep up with me if I'm not serious." Paul exclaimed. 

"That is wonderful. Looks like the other schools can only suffer defeat in the tournament again. Ho ho ho ho." Victor lightly laughed, but Paul felt a small shiver run up his spine. 

He knew that Victor was really competitive and disliked losing. At the same time, professor Marsay found Noah, who was currently in the process of reading books in the library. 

When Marsay saw the amount of books piled up on the table, he looked surprised, but he quickly ignored them. 

"Student Wimbeldon, may I have a moment of your time?" Marsay asked Noah politely. "But of course, professor." Noah stopped reading a book and politely bowed to Marsay. 

"I have a question for you. Do you have any issues with the school treatment? Is there anything you'd like?" 

Noah looked at Marsay for a moment before answering. "I am content with the school regulations. However, there is something I'd like to have." "Hm? What is it?" Marsey asked with interest. "I would like to have a room for myself." Noah answered. 

"Oh, just that?" Marsey asked in a small surprise. He was expecting Noah to wish for something more grand. "Yes, just that." 

"That can be arranged. Wait for a day and you'll have your own room. Is there really nothing else?" "No, professor." "Then I'll excuse myself. I still have work to do." 

"Of course, have a nice day, professor." Marsey left the library quickly, leaving Noah interested. [I didn't think he would actually give me what I wanted. This solves one problem.] Noah lightly smiled and continued reading books in silence. 

Weekend arrived, and Noah was now standing in the capital's shop district, looking around amongst the sea of people. 

Apart from regular humans, there were also elves, dwarves and beastmen walking around. Most of them were adventurers, looking for equipment and potions. 

Noah found what he was looking for, a big shop that, among other things, sold various materials either for crafting weapons and armor or alchemy.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" A clerk greeted Noah upon entering. "I would like to buy a kilogram of black steel, please." 

"Of course, just a moment." The clerk quickly measured the amount of black steel before packing it up and handing it to Noah. 

"That would be five silver coins." Noah paid the exact amount before leaving the shop. Although the price of black steel was a bit expensive, Noah wasn't bothered by it at all. As a son of a Grand Duke Noah's monthly allowance was ten gold coins a month. 

Five silver coins was a very small amount of money for him. Noah now cheerfully made his way back to the school's dorm. 

Quickly arriving at his room Noah immediately locked the door and put up some spells that isolated any sound from the inside of the room. 

"Now, let's begin." Noah unpackaged the black steel and placed it on the table. "As an Officer of magic, I command thee, gather in my palms!" 

Following this short command, the mana from the surroundings gathered at Noah's palm, making his hand shine brightly in light blue light. 

Noah now began ever so slowly molding the black steel in his hands as if it was dough. After that, he split the ball of black steel into ten smaller balls, all identical to one another. 

Having finished the first step, he began focusing on a single ball. With careful movements and great precision, the black ball of steel was slowly turning into a thin steel wire of great length. 

Noah exhaled with satisfaction, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead. 

Once the first steel wire was completed, Noah moved on to the other balls. Time passed by, and finally, all ten steel wires lay on the table curled into small circles. 

"Haah, haah, it's a success." Noah exhaled, satisfied with his work. "At last, I obtained some protection." The steel wires Noah just created had only one purpose. 

They were one of the forbidden magic items that were exclusively used in the past by an evil cult that specialized in puppeteering living beings. 

As long as the user attached the ends of the wires to the target they would be capable of controlling them perfectly, even from a great distance! 

What's more, finding and destroying the wires is incredibly hard and can only be done by someone with a higher rank than the user. 

Noah now quickly stored the black steel wires under his bed in a small box. His body was now drenched in sweat, but he didn't mind that. 

"Looks like it's time for dinner." Noah looked at the starry sky outside the window while his stomach grumbled. 

He spent an entire day creating these black steel wires, and now his mana was almost spent. Noah now took a shower before heading to the cantina. 

He went up the stairs to the second floor followed by envious glares of the students who ate on the first floor. 

The other A ranks were already eating and chatting inside, so Noah ignored them and focused on eating his meal. 

"Noah. Hey, Noah!" "What is it?" He looked up at Thomas. "How come you didn't show up for lunch?" Thomas asked, trying to make small talk with him. "I was busy." Noah responded before continuing to eat. 

"Really? What were you doing?" "Making something." "What were you making?" "Something useful." "I see..." Thomas understood that Noah didn't want to talk in detail, so he left him alone. 

"Oh, about that, I saw you today in the shop district. Was what you bought related to what you were doing this afternoon?" This time it was Maya who spoke up. 

"No." Noah spared her a momentary glance before replying. "Ah, I see..." Maya kept silent for a while before speaking up again. 

"Oh, by the way, what are your interests and hobbies, Noah?" "Reading books and collecting knowledge." Noah replied truthfully. 

"Nothing else?" "No." "Wait, do you ever go out anywhere to have fun?" Thomas asked with a shocked expression on his face. "No." "Seriously? Why?" "I have no need for that." Noah bluntly responded. 

"Wow, you indeed are a child of the library." Maya said in a slightly admiring voice. "Child of the library? What's that?" 

"Oh, you don't know?" It's a nickname others came up with, since they almost never see you outside the library. I think it rather suits you though. What do you think?" I don't care." 

"Hmph, why are you even bothering with this guy? Look at him, pretending to be cool." Creese interjected into the conversation, obviously trying to stir up some trouble.

"Hey, what do you have against him so much? You keep provoking him every day. Cool off already." Maya said to Creese, pointing an annoyed look at him. 

Creese snorted in response and directed an angry look towards Noah before quieting down. Noah ignored Creese and, having finished his meal, got up from his chair. 

"Where are you going?" Maya asked. "To my room." "Oh, wait! Since it's now weekend, we decided to go out and have some fun. What do you think, would you like to join us?" 

"No. Enjoy yourselves." Noah answered and left the room, hurrying back to the dorms. "Wait!" Turning around, Noah saw Fabian standing behind him in the hallway. 

"What is it?" "I just want to ask you something." "Alright." "I want to challenge you in the arena. Are you brave enough to accept?" 

Fabian asked with a serious look on his face. "What's in it for me?" "Huh? What do you mean?" Fabian looked at Noah confused. 

"If you want me to fight you in the arena you first have to make me. Pay me with something or owe me a favor." 

Noah responded with desinterest. He had no time to waste on fighting Fabian unless it brought him some sort of benefit or knowledge about magic. "You... are you perhaps scared?" 

"I just don't want to waste my time pointlessly. If you can pay me to fight you I'll take you on right here. If you can't then wait until the ranking tournament in three months. Goodbye." 

Noah left Fabian bewildered and went inside his room, locking the door and placing sound isolating spells on the room.

Now alone again, he took out the black steel wires from underneath the bed and placed them on the table. "I command thee, as an Officer of magic, collect within these wires." 

With Noah's command, mana collected inside the black steel wires, thus allowing him to wrap up five wires on each of his hands with his mind. 

Now the wires were hidden inside his sleeves and he could use them whenever he wanted to. 

"Good. This should be helpful. Next, I have to collect the demonic spellbook from the library's restricted area. I could try and control someone to steal it for me, but that would be too risky. I don't know who has the clearance to enter that area, and I can't even spy on it with my mana sense." 

Noah grumbled while he made his way towards the library. He knew that the restricted area's walls are coated with a special metal that is capable of blocking mana senses of magicians. 

This metal is called Isolium, and it is the perfect way of blocking mana senses from even the strongest magicians. 

It is commonly used by high ranking nobles and royals of kingdoms in order to hide the existence and location of their precious magic items or magic artifacts. 

Noah could do nothing but wait patiently until some opportunity appears for him to grab it.

[Well, it should be fine. I have four years in front of me. If I can't steal it, in the worst case scenario, I might as well unleash hell and destroy the academy to get it.] 

Noah politely greeted the professors in the hallway before taking his usual seat in the library and continuing his reading.


	11. Chapter 11

Three months passed. It was now the begining of winter. The students were now spending more time inside the academy where they were at least in a warm room. 

Today, after an another day of class, Noah was approached by Fabian. "Noah. Do you remember what you said to me three months ago?" "Yeah. Either you pay me or you wait until tomorrow." Noah replied. 

"I can wait. And then, I'll take the first place on the rankings." "Whatever you say." Noah didn't pay Fabian any mind anymore and returned to his room. 

[Winter has arrived. This is good. The market should begin selling ingredients only found in snow. It can help me create a freezing curse. Then I would have another trump card in hand.] Apart from Noah, the whole academy was in high spirits. 

Everyone was excited about the ranking tournament tommorow. "Hey, did you hear? The second student on the ranking, Fabian, challenged the first one, Noah Wimbeldon!" 

"Really? Looks like tommorow is going to be a blast! I can't wait!" "A showdown of two geniuses! Will this battle determine which is stronger: a magician or a warrior?" 

The students all talked amongst themselves and soon enough, the whole academy knew about the match between the two of them. To this, Noah could only sigh as he quietly made his way towards the school library.

Finally, the day arrived. The coliseum was filled with students of all years. The stands were divided in four parts. 

The lowest seats belonged to first year students and the highest belonged to fourth year students. There were also special lodges for the headmaster Victor and the professors of the academy. 

"Time sure flies by." Victor laughed lightly. "Now then, begin the ranking tournament!!!" His words were followed by heaps of cheers from the spectating students. 

And thus the battles began. Victor sat in his chair and observed the students fighting amongst each other in the arena. 

Occasionally he would nod with satisfaction and praise the professors who taught the certain students. After some time, the main battle everyone was waiting for came. 

"Fabian versus Noah Wimbeldon!" The crowd exploded with cheers as the two most famous students in the academy walked inside the arena. 

To others, these two students represented the pinnacle of both magic and swordsmanship and were considered the strongest in the school apart from the teachers and the headmaster. 

"Here we are. Those three months went by in a flash, don't you think so as well?" Fabian spoke. 

"I'm just making sure, do you really want to go through with this?" Noah asked him. "Of course. I want to fight powerful opponents, and you seem powerful." 

"How so?" Noah asked with a little interest. "He he, just a feeling I have. So I hope you won't go easy on me." Fabian unsheathed his sword and grabbed it with both hands. The judge arrived next to them. "Are you both prepared?" "Yes." Fabian answered. 

"Wait." Noah suddenly raised his hand. "I have a question to ask the headmaster." Everyone, including Fabian, now impatiently waited for what Noah had to say. 

"You have a question, student Wimbeldon? Ask!" Victor urged Noah to speak. "Headmaster, what benefit is there to me in fighting Fabian? Frankly speaking." 

"Frankly speaking, you say? Hmm, nothing!" Victor answered. "As I thought. Then, what would happen if I refused the match?" 

When Noah asked that question, a lot of murmuring ensued in the stands. Spectators began thinking that Noah became scared of Fabian. "Nothing much. You'd just lose your rank and your privileges, like your room for example." 

"I see. So if I defeat Fabian here now, will that stop him and the others from challenging me in the future?" "For a while yes. I don't know about later." Victor wondered why Noah would ask such a basic thing. 

"One last question, headmaster. Will you give me permission to challenge the entire academy?" This last question confused everyone, including Victor. 

"What? You want to challenge an entire school? All four hundred and more students?" "Yes. I don't want to waste my time pointlessly, so I want to make the gap between us obvious to anyone so that I won't be challenged in the future." 

Everyone looked at Noah as if he was insane. Some students even began accusing Noah of being arrogant, but Noah ignored them. 

"You want to challenge the academy... Well, it isn't against the rules per say..." Victor deeply looked at Noah. [Just what kind of confidence does this kid have?] "Alright. I approve of your challenge." The spectators were now in complete disbelief. 

"Too arrogant! This guy is too arrogant!" "Not arrogant, he's insane! He expects to win against four hundred students?!" Victor now sat back and began watching the development. "Thank you, headmaster. Now, please begin." 

Noah's words sounded like provocation, and many upperclassmen got up from their seats and stormed into the arena. 

"Noah, what are you doing?" Fabian asked, bewildered and angry from being ignored. "I'm giving you some help. Good luck." "Huh?!" 

Fabian was now finally angry. Noah was clearly insulting his pride with this. "Fabian, allow us to help. We'll put this arrogant junior in his place." 

Fabian turned around and saw over a hundred upperclassmen students. Some were magicians, and some warriors.

"You're wasting my time. Come already." Noah riled up the upperclassmen further. "Screw this guy, let's get him!" "Count me in!" Fabian added. The judge received the permission from Victor, so he stood away. 

"Are you ready? Begin!!!" Following the judge's words, Noah started out first. "Fireball." A ball of fire formed in Noah's hand and was thrown at the upperclassmen. 

"Shield!" The magician upperclassmen all pointed their staffs towards the fireball, and a white dome engulfed the students. The fireball hit the shield and engulfed it with flames before disappearing. 

"Hah, as if that small attack would do anything!" The upperclassmen sneered at Noah's attack before begining their own. 

The warriors, led by Fabian, charged at Noah with their weapons. Noah stood still and was about to shoot another spell. 

"Dispell!!" The magicians pointed their staffs at Noah, and with a short chant, broke a magic circle in front of Noah's hand. 

[Oh, I see now. The magicians will destroy my spells, while the warriors finish me off. Not a bad strategy for students.] "But it's still not enough." 

Noah calmly looked at the approaching warriors. This whole time he was probing the students to see which type of strategy they would use. 

Now, it was time to get a little serious. "Flame fist." This time, Noah lightly punched the air, releasing a huge flaming fist at the warriors. "Dispell!!" 

The magicians tried to dispell his magic spell, but soon they realized that there was no effect. "What happened? It wasn't dispelled?" 

"Crap, block!" The fist of fire was approaching fast, and the warriors all lashed out with their weapons against it. 

A huge explosion ensued. After the dust settled down, every upperclassmen warrior was lying on the floor. The only one barely standing was Fabian, and both his hands and legs were furiously shaking. "H-how powerful... What... was that..." In the end, even he fell unconscious. 

[As expected of a genius, he even withstood an attack from a paragon rank magician.] Noah spared Fabian a glance before redirecting his attention at the leftover magicians. "He took out all of them?! This is insane!" "Watch out, he's attacking again!" 

The magicians somewhat recovered from their bewilderment and set up a magic barrier with all their strength. "Flame fist." 

Noah fired an another flame fist. The fist collided with the barrier, and after a mere second the barrier broke into pieces like glass, and an explosion ensued. 

Every spectator was stunned at what they saw. The magicians were all laying down on the ground, unconscious. 

It hadn't even been five minutes, and Noah had already beaten Fabian and over a hundred upperclassmen who were the elites of the academy. 

Too shocking! This was just too shocking for everyone present! "Is there anyone else?" Noah stood on the spot, not moving a single step. 

Finally, thanks to his words, the spectators came back to their senses. After confirming that there were no more challengers for Noah, he was let off the stage. 

Silence enveloped the coliseum. Noah didn't care about the thoughts running through everyone's heads. 

He made his way to the school library, where he found his seat and continued reading books about magic and history.


	12. Chapter 12

"Thank you for your purchase, please come again." With the polite words of the shop clerk, Noah left the shop he visited before with a bag under his arm. 

Snow began dying the capital in white, and many people on the streets were seen wearing thicker, warmer clothes. Noah quickly arrived at the academy dorms and hastily went up the stairs. 

Any student that saw him immediately moved out of his way. This was the result of the ranking tournament. Since Noah defeated over a hundred elite students of the academy, not to mention Fabian who is a rank two in the rankings, with just two spells, he was now feared by the other students. 

Not even the upperclassmen, who had a tendency to be haughty in front of others, dared to even look at him in the eyes. He also earned himself a nickname: "The Hebrion Academy's Demon". 

Noah himself didn't care about the new title he was given. He was just content that he would not waste his time being challenged by others. 

After locking the door and casting some spells to isolate sounds from the inside, Noah took out some things from the paper bag and placed them on the table. 

What he bought was surprisingly common: a quill, knitting needles, a couple of buttons, red ink and black cloth. The only somewhat unique product was the cloth, since it was made of wool from the so called "darkness sheep". 

The darkness sheep was a type of sheep specially bred to have affinity with the darkness element, hence it's black wool. 

Without a word, Noah began knitting. Time passed by, and Noah only stopped for a while to get lunch. He moved to the second floor of the cafeteria, where he sat down and began eating. The other A rank students were trying to ignore him, but they would always occasionally steal a glance at him. 

To them, Noah was on a whole new level. His power, mana control and knowledge surpassed all of them combined. He was also respectful towards teachers and always followed rules, never getting into trouble or bad company. 

He was perfect, a student with no flaw. This caused others to feel inferior, because no matter what they did, Noah could always do it better with seemingly no effort. Thomas, Mark, Anastasia and Maya didn't really care that much about that, but the others thought differently. 

Alicia was irked because of Noah's rude behavior, but she could only try to ignore that. She was also a little wary of him as he completely surpassed her analysis of him. Fabian was now ashamed of himself and just kept his silence. 

He was the one who initiated the challenge thinking himself superior, only to get finished off like some small fry. Tywin and Tywon stocked close to Fabian, and they would occasionally look at Noah with mixed emotions. 

The one who had it worst was Creese, as he was always against Noah. Now he was silent, but he still didn't harbour any good thoughts on his classmate. 

Noah finished his meal and returned to his room. He continued knitting the rest of the day and also skipped dinner. "The first step finished." He placed a small black doll with buttons as it's eyes on the table. 

Next up, he took the red ink and quill and began drawing different lines and patterns on the body of the doll. Once that was finished, he began chanting in a weird language. "Maysrtism rabinas, loksios naleum..." He began supplying the doll with mana. 

As the mana filled the doll the red lines and patterns began glowing in a blood red light. "Excellent. It's complete." Noah looked at his handiwork with content. This black doll is an another forbidden item used by a forgotten dark cult: "The Doll of Suffering". 

It is an item that allows the user to control the body of a chosen person, and it can even make the target kill themselves. Noah remembered that this cult had even achieved a remarkable feat of controlling an entire kingdom from behind the scenes by using this method, even under the nose of a Sovereign! 

"It's a pity that they were destroyed in the end. I would have loved to take all of their secrets, but alas I at least have this one." Noah hid the doll inside a box under his bed before exiting his room. 

He placed a few alarm spells on the door and strolled around the academy with no clear goal. [I have already read all the books in the academy library. The only thing left is the forbidden area. Perhaps I can use the librarian...] Ominous thoughts began running through Noah's head as he was walking around. 

"Hm?" Suddenly, something caught Noah's attention. A small tingling feeling ran up his back. [A magic fluctuation? And it's in the garden?] 

The magic fluctuation appeared for a single moment and immediately disappeared, but for a Mage such as Noah, this moment was enough to pinpoint the location of it. He moved to the academy garden and saw a familiar person. [Oh, I see.] 

He saw a girl sitting on the bench in the garden while reading a book. Her hair was the color of snow, and coupled with her blue eyes made for a mesmerizing sight. Noah hid behind the wall and activated his mana sense. Once Anastasia was in the range he began observing her from every possible angle. 

Even though she looked unmoved, Noah could see small beads of sweat on her forehead. Since it was now winter, it obviously wasn't due to sunlight. 

[It looks like whoever fixed Anastasia didn't do a thorough job. They most likely just suppressed her symptoms. If it continues like this, the problem with the ice veins will return again.] Noah's face showed disappointment with the mysterious person's knowledge pertaining ice veins. 

It looked like he overestimated the person. Suddenly though, he remembered something from his past life. Then, his expression turned into that of annoyance. 

[Of course. In my past life, I remember hearing that Anastasia had to urgently leave school during winter holidays, and she didn't return for close to two months. There is only one conclusion. That person is not a knowledgeable Mage or an Alchemist, he's probably just a lucky idiot who obtained some inheritance from a dead mage. Based on his lack of knowledge, the inheritance must be incomplete, otherwise he would've fixed her properly already.]

[And now he must be trying to experiment on Anastasia in order to gain a better understanding of special body compositions.] Noah was now quite dejected. 

He had anticipated to meet someone who possessed valuable information that might be on par with his, and he wanted to speak to that person. But now, even if he found that person, he would at most find the incomplete inheritance that paled with his own knowledge. 

Noah now checked out if there was anyone else in the nearby vicinity of the garden. After confirming that there was no one, he walked up to the bench Anastasia was sitting on and sat down. Anastasia looked at him and was surprised. 

"Hello there." Noah said. "...Hi." Anastasia replied before continuing to read the book. [A romance novel? What a waste of time.] Noah peeked at her book. "Um, do you need something?" Anastasia noticed Noah's stare, and she slowly closed the novel she was reading. 

"I just have a question for you. Are you going to your family once the winter holidays start?" Anastasia was a little taken back by his question, but she still answered. 

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" She thought it was weird how he would be interested in something like that. "I see." Noah nodded to himself. 

"Tell me, do you know who fixed your condition? How does he look like?" Anastasia was now stunned. Alarms went off in her head. "How do you-?" 

"No need to know. Your family paid someone to fix your condition, he did and that's the reason you're able to attend school and have an affinity with the ice element. However, your symptoms, which include intense headache, nausea, weakness, and uncontrollable release of your magic are slowly coming back to you, am I right?" 

"H-how do you know all this?!" Anastasia moved away from Noah and prepared a white magic circle in her hand. A white fog was slowly released from her body, freezing the ground and half of the bench. Her eyes started glowing white just like snow. 

"..." Noah looked at Anastasia, who was visibly greatly upset, with no emotion. "Calm down, I'm not here to blackmail you or to expose your secret if that's what you're thinking." "Then what are you here for?" Anastasia still kept her guard up. 

The moment Noah tried to threaten her or her family she would send him packing immediately. "What if I told you that I can help you, and that I can heal your condition completely?" 

"Eh?" Anastasia stared blankly at Noah. He, a student, just declared that he can completely heal her condition which has been plaguing her for years. "You... you're not kidding, are you?" She looked at Noah straight in the eyes, trying to determine whether he is lying or not. 

"Why would I? Think about it. I'm giving you a choice to end your suffering painlessly. If you accept, come to my room after dinner." Noah got up from the bench and left, leaving Anastasia in deep thought. 

[He knew all about my condition and the symptoms. But how? I've kept that hidden from everyone, only my father knows the truth.] Anastasia met Noah again at dinnertime, but Noah didn't say anything to her. 

He behaved just like usual: ignored everyone until spoken to, and left the moment he ate. "Anastasia, what's wrong?" A sudden voice brought her out of her thoughts. She looked at Maya who sat next to her, and the rest of the A ranks. "Hm? What? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." 

She replied apologeticaly to them. "You've been like this since yesterday. Is there some kind of problem?" Maya asked with worry. "No, no, it's nothing. I was just thinking about the new test next week. Math is not my strong point." 

"Uuf, I can't agree more. Math is a nightmare." Maya and the others groaned. "It's not that bad, is it?" Fabian asked with surprise. "That's because you and Noah are just complete geniuses. We normal people aren't like that." "Hahaha..." Fabian laughed awkwardly. 

Anastasia managed to escape unnoticed from the cantina and she immediately left for the boy's dorms. She found Noah room and lightly knocked on the door. "You chose wisely." Noah opened the door after a few seconds. "Go in. I'll begin treating you immediately." "Alright." 

Anastasia entered Noah's room and looked around. "Now, take off your uniform and lay on your stomach. I'll begin with fixing your body immediately." "Huh?!" Anastasia looked at Noah bewildered, and she lightly blushed red. "Hm? What is it now?" Noah asked with a hint of annoyance. 

"Y-you don't expect me to strip naked and lie down on the bed, do you?!" "You can wear your underwear, no problem with that. I still need you to expose the rest of your body." "That's not what I'm saying!" 

"What are you saying then?" "I'm a girl, and you're a guy! Even us spending time in the same room alone is inappropriate, much less what you're asking! I can't do that." Anastasia replied. 

"Then you can continue to suffer until your death. Goodbye." Noah pointed to the door, signalling her to leave. Anastasia grit her teeth in anger. She felt like she was tricked. As she was about to leave though, her mind clouded as sharp pain hit her head. 

Her knees felt weak and she promptly fell on the floor. "Guuh..." After the intense headache, her sight began blurring as a disgusting feeling of nausea came next. 

[The headache is worse than before. But why? Just today it was a lot smaller...] The headache returned, and Anastasia felt like her head was being cleaved through multiple times. 

Warm tears trailed down her cheeks and fell on the floor. The pain was horrible, and she could do nothing to stop it. "Hmm, judging by your response, the symptoms must be at the second level. You can still be saved." An indifferent Noah observed her with little interest. 

[H-help me... please...] Anastasia could not utter a single word, and she could only pray in her mind for help. 

"Well, I can't just let you suffer here, I'll get dragged into this mess as well." Anastasia then felt a strong impact on her neck before she was enveloped by darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

"Oohhg..." Anastasia lightly groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She was still feeling sleepy and her whole body felt heavy. 

Slowly getting up, she realized that she was lying on a bed. What's more, she was only wearing underwear, the rest of her body completely exposed. "You woke up. Good." 

Suddenly, she heard an all too familiar voice. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a handsome boy with a cold, indifferent look on his face. "W-w-what did you do to me?!" 

Anastasia picked up the blanket and immediately covered herself while her eyes began glowing white. She thought of the worst that Noah could have done to her while she was defenseless, and she looked at him with enmity. 

"Exactly as I said I would. I fixed you, at least for the time being." "Huh?" Anastasia now began observing her condition. She felt a lot better than before, and her ice magic didn't exhibit any problems. 

[How is this possible? Even the Alchemists father had invited weren't capable of bettering my condition, yet Noah, a student did?] "This is... How did-" 

"If you're done resting here, you might want to hurry up to your room. It's only been half an hour. Here are your clothes." 

Noah interrupted her and pointed at a nearby chair on which her clothes stood, neatly arranged. Anastasia remembered that she was naked, and she quickly put on her clothes. 

As she was about to leave, she turned around and lightly bowed to Noah. "Thank you, Noah. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't help me." 

"Oh, nothing much. You'd be driven to near death by the pain. Luckily for you, you were only at the second stage of the malfunction." 

[Only?] Anastasia remembered the horrible pain and nausea she experienced. She thought she was going to die, or at least lose her mind completely. And Noah actually said "only"? Does that mean that it could possibly get even worse? 

Even though she didn't believe that, Anastasia still felt the need to ask. "If I may ask, what do you mean by "only second stage"? Do you mean that it gets worse later on?" 

"Of course. Your ice veins problem is split into three stages. The first one only involves some minor issues like a sudden painful sensation that lasts for a second, alongside a short feeling of nausea and weakness. In the second stage the symptoms rise in both frequency and power, enough to leave you half dead with a small possibility of being crippled."

"The third stage however, is the worst. You are beyond saving at that point. You will suddenly fall into a coma, in which you will be in eternal pain many times worse than what you experienced. Blood will begin pouring out of your every orifice, and your body will begin inflating. In the end, you will explode and release a huge amount of ice magic that will freeze entire kilometers of land." Noah explained.

Anastasia stared blankly at Noah, cold sweat dripping down her back. Upon realising that her condition would only become worse, and that it might even end up affecting everyone around her, a huge sense of fear spread all across her body. 

"Noah, I don't know how you know all this, but..." She bowed as low as she could. "Since you know, would you please help me? I'm begging you..." Warm tears collected in her eyes and began sliding down her cheeks. After a few moments of silence, she heard an answer. 

"Alright. I'll help you." "Thank you!" Anastasia's face lit up. She was finally going to get rid of the problem with her body that plagued her since birth. "However, you mustn't say a word of this to anyone. If your father or the person who fixed you before ask you anything just say that you were healed by a passing alchemist known as Night Sage." 

Noah warned her. "Also, you will need to return here every few days so that I can slowly eradicate the problem. And no complaining next time." 

"Of course." Anastasia blushed but still accepted. Even if it was not befitting of a girl like her to expose her skin to any man, in comparison with her problem being solved that was a small thing. 

After she excused herself politely and leaving the room, Anastasia was filled with questions about Noah's knowledge and abilities. 

But she couldn't ask him about it, as Noah could take that as an act of prying into his private matters and might refuse to treat her. [Noah Wimbeldon, just who are you really? Are you really just a student?] 

Noah spent the night absorbing mana with the help of his meditation technique. The next day Noah continued wasting his time while listening to the new lesson. 

After class he went back to his room and continued meditating. *Knock* *knock* Noah heard someone knocking on the door to his room. [Hm? Someone is looking for me?] He released his mana sense outside the room and saw someone new. 

In front of the door stood a young man in his early twenties, with short blond hair and grey eyes. He wore armor with a badge on his chest. On the badge was a picture of a griffon surrounded by stars, an insignia of the Lidour kingdom. 

[A knight. He must be here to try and recruit me.] "Who is it?" "Student Noah Wimbeldon, I am Marcus from the Kingdom Knight Order. I would like to talk to you about something, could you let me in?" The knight called Marcus spoke politely, which only confirmed Noah's suspicion. 

"Alright, just a moment." Noah opened the door to his room and let Marcus inside. "I wonder what the Kingdom Knights want from me? I am just a student." Noah immediately moved to the point, skipping pleasantries. 

"Right on point. I like that. The truth is, the Kingdom Knights have seen your achievements and were greatly impressed. We would like to invite you to join us after your graduation." Marcus stopped and looked at Noah's reaction. 

"I see." Noah was unmoved, and continued listening. "We will immediately offer you the rank of liutenent, and we can also give you a garrison to command. You would need to spend a couple of years in the countryside, but once that is done you will be brought back to the capital and given a rank of captain, and you will also command multiple garrisons. Based on your performance, it is also possible for you to-" 

"I won't join." Noah interrupted with coldness in his voice. "What?" Marcus was taken aback with the answer. "As I've said. I won't join. The door is over there, please leave." "..." Marcus was now slowly getting angry. 

He went out of his way recruit this promising young student, yet Noah was speaking to him like he was some servant. His pride was insulted, but he kept it in. 

"Student Wimbeldon, would you please hold on? I'm sure we can negotiate-" "No need. I won't join, the end. Please leave now, you're bothering me." Noah turned his back on Marcus and closed himself inside the bathroom. 

Marcus was now almost fuming. His forehead veins began bulging out. [This, this brat!! How dare he be so disrespectful!] "I see, what a shame. Well, if you ever change your mind, the Imperial knights will always welcome you, student Wimbeldon." 

Marcus slammed the door shut upon exiting, and left in great anger. Noah now got out of the bathroom with a somewhat annoyed face. [He finally left. What an annoying guy.] Noah quickly got Marcus out of his head and was just about to continue meditating when he heard someone knocking on the door again. 

[Who is it now?] He released his mana sense, and this time it was someone very familiar to him. "Oh, dear sister, what brings you here?" In front of the door stood Noah's older sister, Elizabeth Wimbeldon. "Is a sister not allowed to visit her brother without a reason?" 

Elizabeth smiled and hugged Noah. "Look at you. It's only been a few months since you entered school, yet you're already a historical genius. Just how did you do that?" "Hahaha, I guess I have some talent." Noah politely replied. 

"Your too humble, brother. Well, I guess that's better than those stuck up fourth years." Elizabeth lightly sighed. 

"Anyway, I bumped into some guy from the Kingdom Knight Order on the way here. Did he try to recruit you?" "Yes, but I refused." "Hehehe, so that's why he was so angry. Serves him right." 

"Hmm..." While Elizabeth was giggling she failed to notice a slight change in Noah's expression that lasted for a moment. "Sister, are you going back home during the winter holidays?" Elizabeth nodded in response. 

"Yes, and you're going as well. Everyone home misses you, especially Timothy. That silly little brother really looks up to you." "Is that so?" Noah replied with a smile, but he was solemn on the inside. 

[Timothy is enrolling in the academy next year. He might become a pain. I should definitely solve everything I need by then.] "I've said everything I needed, so I'm going to my room. Also, Noah, I believe more people will try to recruit you in the future as the news continue to spread. Don't sign anything shady, ok?" 

"Alright." Noah replied. Once Noah was alone in his room, he lightly clapped a few times. "Not bad sister, truly not bad. You already began fullfiling your dream. How admirable." Noah thought back to a few minutes before. 

While Elizabeth was giggling, he released his mana sense and noticed a female assassin hidden in the shadows of the room. 

"Hehe, my sister may look gentle on the outside, but anger her and you won't have a good time." Noah's memories of the past came up. 

He remembered how Elizabeth always had information about anything and everyone in the kingdom. On the surface she is a young pampered noblewoman, but on the inside she is the leader of a secret clan of assassins who no one knows about. 

What's even scarier is that she even had a few General Ranks under her. This earned her a title "The Queen of shadows". 

"The Queen of shadows, a good name. I wonder though, just how did she find them? Oh well, it doesn't matter. Right now she should only have that one assassin under her. I'll ask her in the future." Noah exited his room and took a walk outside. 

[But, if she becomes a problem in the future...] Dark thoughts formed in his head as he walked.


	14. Chapter 14

Winter holidays arrived, and in front of the snow covered Hebrion academy there were now many students entering their family's carriages. A one particular carriage stood out among the rest. 

It was light blue in color and it gave off an imposing manner. In front of the carriage, an old coachman quietly stood with his hands behind his back. 

"Hey look, what a beautiful carriage." "Yea, it belongs to the Wimbeldon family. I heard that this carriage is one of their best." 

"Wow, if they can afford a carriage that luxurious they must be very rich!" "Sigh, if only I was born in that family." The onlookers could only stare in envy at the light blue carriage. 

[So it's time to go home now.] Noah was currently sitting in the library in his usual place. He withdrew his mana sense and closed the book he was reading. 

"This is it for now. It's time for me to go." He got up from his seat and looked at the person opposite to him. "Also, I didn't ask this before, but how come you started to visit the library? You never did that before." 

He looked at the girl who was now holding a romance novel in her hands. Ever since he began stabilizing Anastasia's ice veins she slowly began getting closer to him. 

Now, she even sits at the same table in the library as he does. "Why do you ask? Am I bothering you?" Anastasia stopped reading the novel and looked at Noah. "No." "That's good." She smiled softly before continuing her reading. 

[You still didn't answer though... Oh well, she's probably just trying to find out my secrets.] "Do you remember our deal? About not exposing me?" 

Anastasia nodded. "Don't worry, I won't." "Good." Noah turned around and left. He didn't trust Anastasia at all, but at the same time he also had a small hope that she would tell on him. 

That way the mysterious person would find him, thus saving him the time. [What happens, happens. Regardless, I am an Officer Rank so I can confidently say that outside the powerful nobilility and huge organizations I can pretty much move unhindered in the world.] The outside world was both a hard and an easy place to live in. 

Normally, the students of various academies who graduate either join the army, the Imperial knights or an adventurer guild. Those smarter ones may have a chance of becoming scholars or Alchemists, thus building their own paths in the world. 

Such people usually have to put in a lot of hard work into their jobs, and even then they may be fired for the smallest of reasons. On the other hand, the Ranked magicians and Warriors mostly have it easy. 

Since they are quite rare, a lot of organizations will immediately want to recruit them. Such people usually get preferential treatment and are pretty much set for life regardless what organization they join. For that reason there are almost no rouge Ranked Mages in the continent. 

After all, who would want to live a frugal, hard life of a mercenary in comparison to a luxurious life in some faction? Noah left the library and walked towards the carriage. "Young lord." 

The old coachman bowed in respect. Noah lightly nodded and sat in the carriage. "When will Elizabeth arrive?" "Just a moment. She's still preparing her belongings." 

The coachman answered politely and continued waiting in front. Elizabeth arrived soon after and they left the academy. 

The trip lasted for a few days with no problems. Elizabeth and Noah chatted their time away. Finally, a few days later, they arrived in front of the Wimbeldon estate. 

Noah observed the estate with his mana sense. [Everyone is inside. Even father returned home.] Noah lightly sighed in annoyance. He knew that he was now going to be forced to narrate his experience in the academy. 

"Big sister Elizabeth, big brother Noah!" The first person to greet them was Timothy. He now looked similar to Noah, apart from the fact that he had a toned body and muscles. 

He looked like a cool, handsome young man, but his current behavior reminded Noah of a dog. "Younger brother, you've changed." 

Noah said, but was quickly pushed to the side by Elizabeth. She grabbed Timothy into a hug. "Oh my little Timothy, just look at how you've grown. You look so handsome! Let me hug you!" 

"Sister Elizabeth, if you keep tightening like that, you'll crush me..." Noah observed from the side without moving, this sight yet again reminding him of an owner hugging her dog. 

"Big brother Noah, please help..." "My condolences, younger brother. Also, did you find any friends while we were at the academy?" 

"Yes, I did... A couple..." "Oh, by the way, where are mom and dad?" Elizabeth finally let go of Timothy and looked around. "Right here." Octavia responded and hurried to grab Elizabeth and Noah in a hug. 

Noah dodged, but Elizabeth wasn't so lucky. "Oh, it's only been a year, yet you grew up so wonderfully, Elizabeth. Did you find yourself someone you like? Hmm?" 

"Mom, that's a bit of a delicate subject, I can't just say that out loud..." "Oh come on, we're all family here. So, who is it???" Elizabeth managed to barely endure and keep silent, so Octavia left her alone and jumped on to Noah.

"And here is my little genius! It's only been a few months, yet you're already the strongest in the school! Your future will be bright no matter where you go!" Noah gave up and endured the hugging and kissing hell. 

"I'm so proud of you, Noah." "Thank you mother." Noah answered robotically. "Also, did you make any friends while at school?" Octavia hugged Noah a little tighter. "...Yes. One." Noah answered a bit unsure. 

"That's good. Who is it, do we know them perhaps?" Octavia now let go of Noah, allowing him some breathing room. "Anastasia Noscrim, the daughter of the prime minister. We hang out together." 

Noah knew that Elizabeth could easily find out if he lied, so he decided to tell a half-truth. It's true that Noah and Anastasia spent time together in the library, but it's not like they spoke to each other a lot. 

Noah couldn't classify that as friendship, but he didn't want another lesson on the importance of making friends so he decided to use Anastasia as a scape goat. Worst comes to worst, he'll just blackmail her into pretending with him. 

Hearing his answer, Octavia put her hand in front of her mouth and smiled in a weird way. "Oh, a girl, huh? Looks like my boy Noah is maturing." "Good job, Noah. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" 

Elizabeth patted Noah on the back. Noah's face turned grim for a moment, before moving on. "We're just friends. By the way, where is father?" Octavia caught the hint and let go of the subject. 

"He's outside, training with the knights. You should go and see him, he has also been expecting you." Noah and Timothy moved to the courtyard behind the manor while Elizabeth left with Octavia. 

Her excuse was that she "didn't like the smell of sweaty men in the air". [Even though they're outside...] Noah lightly sighed. 

He himself didn't like speaking with his father Nicolas, but not because of his past life. His past life was his past life, and it had little to do with his current one. 

For that reason, Noah didn't hold a grudge against anyone in this life, much less Nicolas. He knew full well that in this life he won't be seeing many people who he knew in his past one.

Most of the people who tormented him in any way were just small, insignificant pebbles on his road to godhood. 

Meeting with them again would serve no benefit to Noah, so he decided not to get entangled with them at all, not to mention wasting time on something so pointless as revenge. 

The real reason why Noah disliked talking to his father is because Nicolas doesn't know how to interact with children. 

This results in a lot of awkward moments in which no one says anything. When the two boys exited the manor, Nicolas just finished beating up every knight present to the ground. 

"Father, I've returned home for the holidays." Noah bowed slightly upon seeing Nicolas. "Mm. I have heard of your achievements in the academy. I'm proud of you." "Thank you for your praise." 

To his father's earnest praise Noah responded apathetically. And now, an awkward silence ensued. Nicolas didn't know what to talk about while Noah didn't even want to be here. Timothy saw this and felt troubled. Suddenly, an idea struck him. 

"Brother Noah, I've been training a lot in swordsmanship, would you like to see?" "I would." Noah accepted the olive branch that was offered to him and stood next to Nicolas as he observed Timothy's moves. Timothy demonstrated his abilities with great pleasure, happy that he can make his father and brother proud. 

He even faced off against one of the knights of the estate and almost won. While Nicolas observed carefully and gave advice every now and then, Noah barely paid attention and only gave some empty praise at the end. 

"Brother Noah, what do you say about a fight?" Suddenly, Timothy issued a challenge out of nowhere, which piqued the interest of Nicolas and the rest of the knights. 

"Why though?" Noah had no interest in doing so, but he felt that he wouldn't be just let go even if he rejected. "I want to know just how strong you are. I heard that you defeated over a hundred students in a few spells. I want to see your power for myself, so that I know for which height to go for!" 

Timothy exclaimed with admiration. [What are you even talking about...] "Alright. I'll show you my abilities." 

Noah's acceptance was followed by a round of cheers from the surrounding knights, and they immediately cleared the area for the two of them. Nicolas also approved as he too was interested in Noah's fighting ability. 

"Hm? Brother Noah, are you really going to use your hands for casting? Why not use the staff I gave you?" Timothy asked in surprise. Usually, if a mage enters a fight he will always use a staff to help with casting or mana control. 

Only Ranked Mages didn't use magic items because they already control mana so well that they don't need magic items. 

"No need. I'll end this as soon as possible, so prepare yourself." Noah answered with confidence, and Timothy quickly took a fighting stance. 

"Begin!" Nicolas announced the beginning of the duel. Timothy immediately dashed forward, his sword aimed at Noah. 

"Not bad, younger brother." Noah exclaimed in surprise at Timothy's movements. He noticed that Timothy already began circulating his mana through his body. 

Obviously, this meant that he was a Warrior, so Nicolas, having seen this, took the chance to teach him some swordsmanship. 

Noah was obviously going to win. He was an officer, a rank below his father. To him, Timothy was like a bug that he could crush at any moment. 

However, he decided to go easy on him because he didn't want to reveal to Nicolas that he was already a Ranked Mage. So now, Noah would only show the power at the level of upperclassmen of the Hebrion academy. "Fireball." 

A magic circle appeared in front of Noah's palm before a ball of fire shot out at the charging Timothy. "Hah!" Timothy didn't try to dodge and instead slashed with his sword. 

There was an impact as the fireball exploded, and Timothy stumbled a little backwards. As he was trying to balance himself, a new fireball arrived already, giving him no time to dodge. 

"Guh!" Timothy managed to block but was launched backwards. Noah gave him no time to recover, and this time he began shooting out mana slashes one by one. [What do I do? He's giving me no time to dodge!] Nicolas also noticed what Noah was doing and he nodded in approval. 

[Indeed. A Mage is at a disadvantage up close, so barraging your opponent with projectiles is an excellent way of keeping distance. And the next step is...] 

"Flame fist." Noah punched the air and released a big fist of flame straight at Timothy. With no options left, Timothy could only block with his sword. "Uwaah!" The fist of flame collided with the sword, launching both Timothy and his sword away. 

"Ouch!" He landed on the ground hard. "It's over, younger brother. Do you admit it?" Noah asked. "Yes." Timothy got up and picked up his sword. 

"You're really strong, brother Noah. I wasn't a match at all." He laughed merrily. "You also made more progress than I expected, younger brother. Next year, you'll definitely be a powerful warrior." 

"Mm, and then we'll fight again!" "You're welcome to challenge me anytime." The day ended on a positive note, and the next few days, Timothy began intensifying his training.


	15. Chapter 15

In the basement under the Noscrim family manor, a figure in a black cloak carefully observed a body lying on an experimental table. Every now and then it would open a small black notebook and write something inside before continuing it's observation. 

The body on the table was Anastasia, and she was now lying unconscious and naked on her stomach. "How is this possible?" The figure spoke after a long time, it's voice belonging to an old woman. 

"The subject's condition is in a far better state than half a year ago. The ice veins are stable and there is no leakage of ice magic. But how? My treatment isn't supposed to have such results. Is it a natural progression? Or perhaps..." The figure turned Anastasia's body over on her back. 

"Mind submission." The figure touched Anastasia's forehand and cast a spell. "Now, you will tell me anything I want to know. Who healed you?" Anastasia opened her blurry blue eyes. She was now under the effect of a mind control spell. 

"I was helped by a passing Alchemist." She replied monotonously. "An Alchemist? Someone so knowledgeable exists in this kingdom?" The figure was evidently surprised, and it began walking in circles in thought. 

"What was his name?" "Night Sage." Anastasia replied. "A fake name. This means that at least he doesn't belong to the Alchemist Guild. But he could belong to some noble family... But which one? I can't imagine any of those bastards being so knowledgeable..." 

The figure was at a loss. "What did he look like?" It asked. "He wore a black cloak. I couldn't see his face." The figure could do nothing but sigh helplessly at the answer. 

This Alchemist really secured his identity from being uncovered. After a few more questions, Anastasia was put to sleep again. The figure sat on the chair in deep thought. 

[An Alchemist whose knowledge exceeds even the knowledge I obtained from an inheritance... I have to find this person!] Two green flaming eyes glowed under the hood, filled with murderous intent.

......

Noah was currently sleeping in his room. Suddenly, his eyes shot open in realisation, before a smile formed on his face. [My spell activated. Looks like Anastasia was questioned using mind control spells as expected.] 

Noah wasn't a fool to believe that Anastasia could keep his secret from the mysterious person just like that. It was fairly obvious to assume that she would be mind controlled and thoroughly questioned. 

For that reason, Noah planted a few dormant spells in her mind that would activate once she was asked any questions related to him. 

The planting of these spells went unnoticed by Anastasia, and they would not be found out by anyone below General Rank. 

[Although I won't be found out, it isn't a good idea to keep that person around. Considering that they went through the trouble of hiding their identity, they are probably someone of questionable morals. Sooner or later, I might get attacked just because I'm close to Anastasia...] Noah was deep in thought. 

After forming a couple of ideas in his mind he returned to sleep. [I should handle the threat as soon as possible. They're maximum rank is definitely officer, otherwise they would've already seen through my spells. It isn't impossible to kill them.] 

The next day, Noah wrote a letter and sent it to the Noscrim family territory. Afterwards, he left the Wimbeldon manor and traveled to the single town under his family's jurisdiction. 

[Ah, Ilsa, the only town under my family's rule. Even compared to the capital it still holds up well. I wonder where the black market is situated there?] The Black Market! Noah remembered many things from his past life about that organization. 

The black market is one of the top organizations on the entire continent. It is spread in any corner of the continent, and as long as there existed a city, it would always have a Black Market branch in it, hidden from the eyes of the normal people.

The Black Market is a perfect place for both selling and buying things that are forbidden in any regular shop. They ask no questions, and just want profits. It was for this reason that they spread across the continent in the first place. 

[I definitely have to visit that place as soon as possible. But...] Noah opened his eyes. [I am stuck with these two!] Next to Noah sat Elizabeth and Timothy. When they heard that Noah was visiting Ilsa, they also expressed their wish to go with him. 

Since Noah was being pressured by Octavia, he had no choice but to give in. Now, these two were chatting the time away in the carriage while Noah pretended to be asleep. [What's more...] 

Noah released his mana sense outside and carefully sized up the new coachman sitting on the front of the carriage. He was quite young, at most in his early twenties. 

He had average looks with dark brown hair, but he was also unexpectedly muscled. He looked mostly harmless and innocent, but Noah didn't dare underestimate him. This young man was actually a Paragon Rank Warrior!

Noah heard that he was hired by Elizabeth some time ago. When he questioned her, she said that she found two poor siblings in the capital whom she decided to hire out of pity, and that she was given permission by Nicolas. 

Noah didn't believe this bullshit, since he knew that no Ranked Mage would ever hire himself to someone as a mere coachman. Judging by the barely noticeable magic undulations coming from him, he was definitely an assassin with an affinity for shadows. 

[Sister is slowly spreading her influence. And it appears that father actually knew about it?] Noah thought about it for a while before throwing the matter to the back of his mind. 

"Brother Noah, we've arrived. Wake up already!" Timothy and Elizabeth 'wake up' Noah. They exit the carriage and take a stroll through the city. With his mana sense, Noah found out that the coachman assassin is secretly following them from behind. 

"Brother Noah, for what purpose did you come here?" Elizabeth asked with interest. "Can I not just take a stroll around for no reason?" Both Timothy and Elizabeth chuckled at his response. 

"Please, brother, do you think I know you for a week? You never do anything that doesn't have a purpose because you'd "waste your time"." She answered, imitating Noah's voice at the end.

"You're correct. I'm here to buy something." "Oh? What's that? Could it be a present for that "girl friend" of yours?" "As if. It's a set of Alchemist equipment." "Alchemist equipment?" Elizabeth looked at Noah strangely. 

"Why would you buy that? Don't tell me you're an Alchemist on top of being a Mage?" "No. I'm just trying it out a little since it seems interesting, making potions and other stuff." Noah lied. 

"I see. Well, if you can become a good Alchemist then even if you fail in being a Mage you can still have a good life, you know." "That only works for Alchemy grandmasters. And you and me know that there's very few of them in the world." 

"Heheh, and all of them are old grampas with huge beards. They look kinda funny like that, they remind me of gnomes." Noah looked at Elizabeth with a dark expression. [If they heard you....] 

While they were talking, Noah bought himself a set of Alchemist equipment and some Alchemy ingredients. Since he didn't want to stay in the town any longer Noah persuaded his siblings to return to their estate as soon as possible. 

Upon arriving home, Noah shut himself in his room and placed sound isolating spells throughout the room. "Now, let's begin. I'm a little rusty in potionmaking, but this middle Grade potion shouldn't be that hard to make." 

He began brewing a potion inside a small cauldron on the table. By combining distilled water and few types of purified grass he produced a clear liquid. At the same time he used his fire magic to create a perfect temperature for brewing the potion. 

The liquid inside the cauldron first turned red, then yellow and finally black. Foul odor began permeating the room. "A failure. The temperature was too low." 

Noah didn't sound dejected about the failed potion as he spilled the waste liquid into the trash. He repeated the process following the methods he got after obtaining many memories of Alchemists from his previous life. 

After a few more failed attempts, the color of the liquid in the cauldron turned dark blue. "Success. A Middle Grade sleep potion." He exhaled as he grabbed a small glass vial and poured the dark blue liquid into it. 

"This Middle Grade potion can affect anyone below General Rank. This will greatly come in handy in my plan." With a satisfied smile Noah stored the vial in a small box and put it away. "Now, all I need to do is wait for the call."


	16. Chapter 16

Two days later, Noah received a letter from Anastasia. Shortly after he set off to her family's manor. The carriage driver was replaced on his request as Noah did not want Elizabeth's assassin to ruin his plan. 

Constantly checking the bottle inside his pocket, Noah repeatedly assured himself of his success. A whole day of traveling later, he finally arrived at the Noscrim family manor. 

It was a two story manor surrounded by a spacious garden filled with blue roses, now colored in white by the falling snow. In front of the manor stood a middle aged butler. Upon seeing Noah, he respectfully bowed. 

"Young lord Noah, I am the Noscrim family butler, Romul. I was ordered by the young miss to immediately bring you to her. Please follow me." Noah nodded in approval and followed the butler to Anastasia's room on the second floor.

Upon arriving, Romul was quickly dismissed and Noah was pulled inside by her. Closing the door behind her, Anastasia warily looked at Noah. "You said that an emergency happened. What kind of an emergency?" 

Noah ignored her questions and released his mana sense across the manor. In a moment he knew everything that was happening inside the house. He saw Romul making tea, the servants working around the house, knights patrolling outside... 

But only two places caught his attention. One was the basement under the house, in which he saw a cloaked figure that was currently reading a thick book filled with strange characters. 

The other one was an office room on the other side of the house. Inside was a blue haired middle aged man flooded with paperwork. It was Roland Noscrim, the head of the Noscrim family and Anastasia's father.

Seeing this Noah smiled, and Anastasia suddenly felt chills run all over her body. "Yes, there has been an emergency, I'm afraid. But I'll tell you later. I could use some tea though." 

Just when Anastasia was about to ask someone to make some tea, Romul knocked on the door and delivered it before excusing himself. "Alright, you've had some tea, can you tell me now what happened?" 

Anastasia asked in a nervous voice. Knowing Noah it definitely wasn't something small. "Yes, I'll need you to turn around." Noah plastered a serious face. "Why? What is it? Is it bad?" Anastasia only continued to grow more nervous. 

"I'll tell you, but you need to turn around." Although unsatisfied that Noah continued to beat around the bush, Anastasia still listened to him.

*Bop!*

With a well placed hit to the neck Anastasia fell unconscious in a moment. Then, black metal wires flew out of Noah's sleeves and attached themselves to the girl's body. 

With small movements of Noah's fingers, Anastasia's limp body now stood up straight as if she wasn't unconscious at all. She was now a doll for Noah to use as he wished. "These wires never disappoint. Honestly, I take my hat off to whoever invented this." 

Noah smiled in satisfaction. Without wasting a moment he pulled out a bottle of sleep potion he concocted a few days prior and poured it's content inside the kettle. Then he began manipulating Anastasia to call over Romul. 

Like a good butler that he is, Romul arrived quickly. "Oh Romul, this tea that you've brought, I can't help but think that it has a weird taste..." Anastasia said, urging the butler to pour himself a cup. 

"Hmm, strange. It tastes the same as always. But no worry, young miss. If you feel that it's bad then I will... what is...?" Under the effect of the sleep potion Romul fell on the floor like a log.

A moment after, black steel wires detached themselves from Anastasia and attached themselves to him. 

Wasting no time at all, the now controlled butler picked up the platter with the kettle and one tea cup. He moved just like before, and he made his way to the office room where Roland Noscrim worked. 

*Knock knock!* "Yes?" A tired voice sounded off from the office room. "Milord, it's me, Romul. I was sent by the young miss to give you some tea. Might I enter?" Romul respectfully replied. "Anastasia? Alright then." 

Having received permission to enter, an unnatural smile flashed across the butler's face, but immediately after disappeared. Upon entering the office room, Romul pored some tea into a cup and stood aside in silence. 

Roland finished writing some of the papers and breathed out in relief. Picking up the cup, he drank a gulp and enjoyed the taste. "Good tea. It really makes one feel refreshed." 

Suddenly, Roland's vision began to blur as an intense feeling of weakness washed over him. "Romul... what..." Yet again, the black steel wires switched their target, leaving the unconscious Romul on the floor.

Now, "Roland" stood up without a problem. A smile of pure malevolence appeared on his face as he radiated the power of an Officer Rank Mage. 

He made his way downstairs, while at the same time shooing away any servant of the manor with a made up story of an intruder. The servants were quickly convinced by his words and immediately cleared themselves out of his way. 

At the same time, the cloaked figure was too absorbed in reading the thick book to notice what was just about to happen.

*Boom!* An intense shockwave spread out throughout the manor as the basement door was completely destroyed by a single attack. The cloaked figure's eyes widened in shock as she was cowered in a wave of dust and rubble. 

Removing her cloak she now gained a look of an old and harmless woman. If someone looked at her all they would see would be a gentle granny. "Lord prime minister, what is the meaning of this?!" 

She asked histerically. Roland merely looked at her for a moment whilst looking like he was in thought. "Spare me your words. I already know who you are." He replied with a chilling voice, which sent the old woman into a state of alarm. 

Quickly trying to calm herself, she plastered a smile on her face. "What? I'm afraid I didn't hear you well. I'm the Alchemist that is working to heal your daughter, don't you remember?" 

However, Roland simply attacked again. Pointing his hand at the woman, he yelled out. "As an Officer of magic, I command thee, Water prison!" A magic circle appeared in front of his palm. But this magic circle was different than all the others from before. 

This magic circle was actually constructed out of two magic circles, with the smaller one being inside the larger! Moments later, a dome made of water formed around the old woman, and inside it formed rows upon rows of water blades, each ready to cut the woman up into pieces! 

At that moment, the old woman's voice changed into a cold and raspy one as she yelled out. "Don't think that I'm that easy to kill, bastard!" She pulled out a silver cross with a small skull in the center. 

By injecting some mana inside the cross, the skull's eyes shine blood red, and a dark red barrier covered the old woman, completely negating the water blades!


	17. Chapter 17

This sight caused Noah, and by extension Roland, to raise his eye slightly. "An artifact, huh?" The old woman cackled malevolently. "Indeed. And if you don't have something on the Rank of a General you can forget breaking through my defense." 

Her previous appearance was now gone, replaced by a pale face on which two green eyes shone with cold light. Instead of her Alchemist robes she was now covered in a black cloak. 

Noah immediately knew what she was. A dark Mage! [And she must be quite special if they allowed her to run around with an artifact like that.] He thought about which dark organization could afford something like that, and a couple of answers surfaced in his mind. 

One had to know that there exists a clear line between magic items and magic artifacts. Magic items represent a wide scope of magical weaponry. They can be staffs, swords, spears, hammers and even knives. 

Such weapons are extremely common, and virtually every Mage or Warrior in the world possess them. They are also relatively easy to produce, and can be found in any shop in the world.

Artifacts are a lot different. They are special items that can only be crafted by Ranked Mages. Because they're rather costly to make and the mana consumption is bigger in comparison to magic items, the amount of artifacts in the world is many times smaller than that of magic items. 

Because of that, such weapons will only be used by Ranked Mages and Warriors, never by anyone else. In organizations, such weapons will only be given to the most loyal or exceptional of members. From that it's clear that the old woman isn't some simple Mage.

But, this all caused Noah to smile. He didn't care at all about the background and support this woman may have. Although she might sound high and mighty, she isn't someone completely indispensable, otherwise she wouldn't be let out at all. 

At most she could be a Guest Elder of some organization, and that artifact is likely the only one she has on her. Even if she were to die, he wouldn't get chased to the ends of the world. 

For that reason, he will just kill her and take the artifact for himself. His smile transferred over to Roland, and the old woman immediately felt a sense danger, but also bewilderment. 

This whole time she was wondering why would Roland attack her so brazenly. Did he not care about his daughter's life? 

As she was thinking, Roland now began attacking again. This time he used a single magic circle spell. "Water bullet!" A compressed ball made of water shot out of the magic circle with incredible speed, hitting the protective shield and disappearing, dealing no damage. 

That attack was followed up by more and more water bullets, all of which dealt no damage to the protective shield. "What are you even doing?" The old woman looked at Roland with confusion. 

"I'm surprised you don't know." Roland looked at her with a look of incredulity, all the while not stopping his attacks once.

At that moment, the old woman understood. [He is trying to exhaust my mana!] "Bastard!" Without wasting a moment, she formed a single magic circle in her palm. "Wall of stone!" 

A three meter thick wall of stone appeared in front of the old woman, shielding her from Roland's onslaught. 

Then, she pulled out a mana potion out of her bag and tried to drink it. However, Roland suddenly appeared from behind the wall and attacked. "What?!" Caught by surprise, the old woman once again turned on her defensive artifact to protect herself, but the mana potion ended up destroyed. 

"You're pushing me too far, Roland Noscrim!!! Do you think I cannot attack you?!" The old woman turned towards Roland and prepared to fire a spell, but to her surprise, Roland ran straight in her direction, not at all worried about her attack. 

"Tch. Wall of stone!" An another stone wall separated her from Roland, and she backed up. At the same time, Roland ran into the wall and made a loud thump before attacking yet again. 

[What the hell is wrong with this guy?!] The old woman was now fuming in anger. She hated being in a passive position, forced to constantly defend herself, but she had no other choice. 

Because Roland is a Prime Minister of a kingdom, if he ended up heavily injured or killed she would be chased to the ends of the world by the kingdom forces. There would be no safe place for her to go. 

And since Roland is an Officer Rank Mage, it's impossible for the old woman to incapacitate him quickly. That leaves only one choice. [I must flee!] Ignoring Roland, she turned her gaze upwards and muttered an incantation. 

"Move earth!!" Two magic circles appeared on the palm of her hand, and as they shined the basement ceiling moved apart like a gaping mouth. 

Seizing the chance, the woman jumped upwards out of the basement, and soon out of the manor. She grabbed a nearby horse and rode off into the distance as fast as she could. 

Roland didn't give chase. He called over the servants to clean up the mess left behind and made his way back into his office. There, he suddenly fell onto the floor like a puppet with it's strings cut. 

At the same time, Noah disappeared from Anastasia's room, leaving behind the unconscious girl lying on her bed.


	18. Chapter 18

"Curse that Roland!! How dare he do this to me!" The old woman was currently treading through deep woods on the side of the road. 

She left the Noscrim estate with a horse, but soon after went into hiding deep inside the forest, hoping that she could hoodwink Roland and his men. 

She cursed the whole way. Thanks to this incident, she will now be hunted across the entire Lidour kingdom and will most likely be forbidden from exiting the main headquarters for decades as punishment. 

After some time passed, she breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the distance she made from the Noscrim estate. 

Believing that she was safe for a while, she stopped moving and began drinking mana potions to restore her mana. Just as everything seemed peaceful, it was to the old woman's horror that she felt her left arm twisting and crumpling like a piece of paper! 

*Craack!* Horrible cracking sounds rang out, and blood began bursting out like a fountain, dying the ground red. "Aaaaiiiiieeee!!!!" The old woman screamed in intense pain and terror of what was happening. 

She reached out to her bag and pulled out a healing potion, but it did no good. Even activating her defensive artifact didn't stop her arm from turning into mush. Left with no other choice, she decisively cut off her arm. 

"What the hell was that?!?!" Terrified at what happened she began speeding off into a random direction. However, that did no good. 

Just a few moments later, the cracking sounds returned as this time the old woman's right leg crumpled just like her arm! 

*Craack!* The old woman fell on the ground, screaming in horrid pain. She released her mana sense spanning 50 meters outside, but found nothing. 

Just a moment later, her last limbs also crumpled like paper, and she could do nothing but lay on the ground, unable to move as she continued bleeding out in great quantities. As she began slowly losing consciousness, a person finally appeared out into the open. 

It was a youth with a cold expression on his face. He wore a noble outfit, and had short brown hair. He looked disinterested in the world around him, and emmited an aura of mystery. 

Anyone who looked at him would find themselves attracted to him, and yet repelled by his the look in his eyes. It was no one else but Noah, and he slowly strode over to the woman whilst carrying a black doll in his hand. 

The doll had crumpled arms and legs, in the same fashion as the old woman. From that it was not hard for her to understand who was responsible for her current condition. 

That realisation did her no good. She could not move, and her consciousness was fading away. "W-who are you? Why did you attack me?" She asked. 

Noah didn't answer. Crouching down, he placed his palm on her head and uttered a simple chant. "Soulsearch." 

Immediately, piercing pain assailed the woman's head, as Noah's mana sense bore it's way through her head and began drawing out all of her memories. 

Her entire life flashed before her eyes, as blood began pouring out of her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. A minute later, she was dead. 

Noah picked up her defensive artifact and a small ring from one of her broken fingers. It was silver, and the moment he marked it with his mana sense it changed to fit on his finger. Satisfied at his gains, he placed the artifact inside the ring and burned the old woman's body to ash.

......

A couple of days later, shocking news spread across the Lidour kingdom. The kingdom's prime minister Roland Noscrim found out that an alchemist who he called over to treat his daughter was actually a dark Mage belonging to an infamous organization known as The Black Hands. 

A chase was organised immediately, with The Church of Light sending a special squad of paladins. At the same time, Noah sat in his room, carefully inspecting the small cross with a skull on it. 

After confirming that it now belonged to only him, he smiled and placed it inside the silver ring.

However, realising that he will soon return to school, he frowned. The frown only deepened once Timothy bursed into his room and challenged him to an another sparring session.


	19. Chapter 19

Days passed with nothing big happening. The kingdom forces already began giving up on the chase with only the Church of Light's paladins persevering. 

Noah spent his days holed up inside his room, mostly absorbing mana with his meditation technique. Occasionally, Timothy would drag him outside for another sparring session which Noah won effortlessly. 

However Timothy had started showing improvement in his swordsmanship skills. Soon, he was capable of keeping up for half a minute, and he continued to improve.

One day, Noah was called over to his mother's room. He entered and politely greeted her before siting down. "I called you over for because of a very important matter." Octavia began in a serious tone. "I'm not interested." 

Noah interjected immediately. He knew that his mother was once again trying to set him up with some noble girl again. 

"But why? Do you have any idea just how much effort I invest in searching for someone that will suit you? And not to mention the amount of shame I feel when I hear others talking about you on noble gatherings? Can you believe all the things they say about you?" Octavia said in a sad voice. 

Noah put on a sympathetic smile on his face, but inwardly he was rolling his eyes. [As if there exists a noble stupid enough to actually complain about me being single. I bet they're introducing their daughters to my mother left and right.] 

"Alright, alright, I'll think about it." He replied apologeticaly. As soon as he said that, a weird gleam appeared in Octavia's eyes as she placed a mountain of paper on the table. 

"To help you think, I gathered a lot of information about all the possible candidates. No need to thank me." She said in a proud voice. 

The mountain of papers recorded a lot of information on all kinds of noble girls, from their names and grades to their interests and hobbies. 

Noah's expression darkened, but was quickly replaced with a thoughtful one. [Actually, this might not be so useless after all.] 

He thanked Octavia and moved the mountain of paper to his room where he committed all of the information to memory.

......

Days passed, and the winter holidays ended. Noah and Elizabeth exited the carriage in front of the academy and bid each other farewell. 

As he was walking to his room, however, a teacher notified him to visit the headmaster's office. After knocking, the headmaster Victor allowed him to enter. 

"Student Wimbeldon, I see you are in high spirits today. Please, take a seat." Victor spoke friendly. Once Noah sat down, he continued. "I presume you're wondering why I summoned you here. Don't worry, you aren't in any trouble. It's actually quite a good thing." Noah nodded, but he inwardly rolled his eyes. 

He knew exactly why he was called here. But he was also a bit excited. [Here it comes.] "I believe you've heard about the interschool tournament that will be held in next month. There, various different academies from other kingdoms will send their best students to participate and earn various rewards. Some of the rewards can even help a student become a Ranked Mage! One year, there was also..." Noah ignored Victor's ramblings that stretched out for half an hour. 

Having finished, he asked. "So, student Wimbeldon, I would like to know if you'd like to participate?" Victor looked at Noah deeply. He was certain that Noah would not refuse. 

"I don't want to go." Noah answered coolly. Victor heard a cracking sound in his head, like glass shattering. The two of them stayed in silence for a while, before he finally muttered. "Oh, I see..." Feeling dispirited at Noah's refusal, he dismissed him. 

Once outside, Noah was overjoyed. Since he was already a ranked mage, and an Officer Rank no less, the tournament didn't interest him in the least. 

[However, apart from the students, the headmaster himself and a few teachers will also go. The school will be at it's weakest then. If I want to steal the demonic spellbook from the library's restricted area, that will be the perfect time to strike!]


	20. Chapter 20

A month passed by in a flash. The students who will be participating in the interschool tournament orderly went inside their carriages, alongside the teachers. 

Among the participants were Fabian, Alicia and the muscly twins Tywin and Tywon. With great fanfare, the carriages left the Hebrion academy. At the same time, Noah was in his room, observing the leaving participants with his mana sense. 

After making sure that the principal Victor left, he retracted the mana sense an sighed in relief. "Finally he left. this past month was truly torture." 

With great speed, Noah moved towards the library, ignoring the other students who quickly moved out of his way for fear of provoking him. 

The academy library was now empty, with only the librarian inside going about his work. Upon verifying that he was the only other person inside, Noah moved behind the librarian and knocked him unconscious. 

He then placed some alarm spells and attached the black steel wires to the librarian's body. A few moments later, the librarian got up from the floor and moved in the direction of a big double door in the far back of the library. 

The huge wooden double door stood there imposingly, blocking any person who may try to enter the forbidden section of the academy's library. 

Once the librarian knocked on the door a few times, a powerful force shot out from the door, examining the librarian's identity.

Then, with whining sounds, the door opened, allowing him entry to the forbidden section. Noah used this chance to send out his mana sense through the double door and into the forbidden section, enveloping everything inside. 

The Hebrion academy truly earned its position as the number one academy of the Lidour Kingdom. The forbidden section was filled with many magic scrolls and books, each one filled with lots of information about spells of all elements. 

They were all tidily arranged on the shelves and surrounded by light from the alarm spells placed all around each and every one of them. 

Noah made the librarian enter inside. Upon entering, a strong force that felt like a weight of a boulder began pressuring the librarian.

Outside, Noah clicked his tongue in annoyance. [A magic formation that pressures anyone that enters inside. A normal person would only survive for a few minutes.] Since the librarian would not be of much use inside, Noah would have no choice but to enter by himself. 

He placed the librarian in the middle of the double door to keep it open, and then entered inside. Upon entering, the force began pressuring him with greater weight than when it pressured the librarian. 

If Noah entered alongside the principal Victor, he wouldn't have to experience the power of the magical array since the principal possessed a way to turn the formation off. 

However, he had no such luxury so he had no other choice but to endure the slowly increasing pressure. [I can endure two hours without any injuries. Any longer than that and i'll begin bleeding from all of my pores.]

Releasing his mana sense throughout the forbidden section, Noah focused on finding any small magic fluctuations that might indicate a presence of a magic seal. 

[There are some faint signs of a magic seal, but they're too small and are thrown around everywhere. This won't be easy.] The amount of magic fluctuations numbered in thousands. 

Without the help of a special artifact or an array master, it would take a long time to track down the fluctuation that led to the location of the magic seal. 

Noah could do nothing but track down every fluctuation individually. "Sigh... If I wasn't a student, I could've stolen everything here and no one would know. If I was a Ranked stronger I could level this entire place and still escape unharmed. But now I have no choice but to waste time pointlessly." 

Soon enough, almost two hours passed. Noah was left with no choice but to leave and try again tomorrow. 

The librarian woke up some time later with no idea what happened in the past few hours. By that time, Noah was eating in the cafeteria. "Oh, hey there Noah. Rare to see you here so early." 

Thomas called out as he sat down. Noah didn't respond. Thomas was already used to this so he didn't say anything more. However, he noticed a frown on Noah's face as he ate. 

It seemed as though Noah was in a bad mood over something. He frowned all throughout the meal and even when he left. [Why is he so angry?]


	21. Chapter 21

[Another failure yet again.] Three days have passed. In those three days, Noah has tracked down hundreds of magic fluctuations to no avail. 

Now, after an another try in the morning, Noah left for the classroom and waited for the lesson to begin. 

"Good morning students." The middle aged professor Marsay quickly greeted the class before beginning his lecture. 

"Today we will learn about what you have all been waiting for, I presume." He said as he wrote two words on the board. 

The words "Ranked mages" caused everyone to immediately direct their attention to Marsay, waiting for him to start talking. Seeing this, Marsay sighed inwardly. With a cough, he began. 

"Alright, listen up. First off, every Mage in the world is born with an affinity for a certain element. Those elements are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Lightning, Light, Darkness, Shadow, Plant and Poison."

"Of those, Fire, Water, Earth and Wind are the most prevalent and are known as the rudimentary elements. The other elements are what's knows as advanced elements. They are rarer and if trained well, can produce a mage stronger than those on his level." 

"Every Mage will begin as a student with Rank 1 spells, or in other words, spells casted with a single magic circle. Their casting time is short and can also be neglected by some." He glanced at Noah for a moment before continuing. 

"The way for a Mage to gain a rank is both simple and excruciatingly difficult. You must create a rune pattern inside your mind. The pattern must be based on a Paragon Rank spell. You can imagine it as a sort of foundation of your Rank."

"The more solid the pattern is, the more profound and solid your comprehension of the Paragon Rank is. If your comprehension is at 80% or more, you will manage to succeed with your promotion and will become a Ranked Mage!" 

"However, there are many risks present. If you are even a single percent off, your body will be destroyed from the inside, and you will undoubtedly die. If you quit midway, or if you are interrupted, you will also die. It all depends on your talent and will to persevere." 

Marsay's words were met with mixed reactions from the students. The high noble students weren't worried too much and were excited, while the low noble and peasant students all wore looks of shock and dismay. 

For someone poor like them, a Paragon Rank scroll that contains the necessary spell is simply impossible to get without insane amounts of luck. Even normal scrolls are expensive, much less those that contain ranked mage spells. 

Many of the poorer students already gave up in their minds. "After Paragon Rank comes Officer Rank. Upon achieving it, you will gain a dome like sensory ability called "mana sense". It allows you to observe anything in a certain range with great clarity regardless of where you are."

"After that comes the General Rank. In order to achieve this Rank a Mage must mentally reconstruct the rune pattern inside their mind and form a special innate skill that only they can use. At the same time, their mana will begin reaching a critical point in the soul orb and will begin crystalizing itself." 

"Once all the mana becomes crystallised will be the moment you break through to the Magistrate Rank! Whoever succeeds in breaking through this rank will have their name remembered for all time!" Marsay's voice became excited. 

"After Magistrate comes Ruler. It's a truly legendary Rank! It's said that a Magistrate Rank mage can destroy an entire Kingdom, and that the Ruler Rank Mage can destroy half of the continent!" The students were left breathless. 

Just a single kingdom is as big as a continent, stretching for millions of square miles. Just how powerful would a person have to be do destroy such a huge plot of land. And yet, there exists an even more powerful stage than that? 

"Teacher, what about the Rank after Ruler?" A student rose his hand up and asked. "The Sovereign Rank." Marsay said solemnly. 

"It is the highest Rank achievable in the world. It's said that only a single person out of billions of people may have a scrap of talent to reach such a stage."

"Unfortunately I don't know much about it. Well, no one does really. The only thing we know is that such people are invincible! They can destroy an entire continent in a short span of time! And they never run out of mana!" 

Marsay spoke with a look of a believer talking about his God. "Teacher, where are those Mages now?" Another question came. 

"Who knows? The last known record of Sovereigns was in the Dark Era. No one knows what happened to them, but they did stop the never ending war. For that reason we should be eternally grateful to them." 

The class ended the same as always, but the students that exited were filled with excitement. Even the members of the top ten students couldn't stop from daydreaming about being such powerful Mages. 

Only one person had no reaction to the lesson. With the same face as always, Noah went back to the library and began tracking the magic fluctuations again.


	22. Chapter 22

Two more days passed uneventfully. Noah continued tracking down magic fluctuations that roamed around the forbidden section tirelessly. 

Right now he was following a small magic fluctuation throughout the whole forbidden section in a couple of circles before finally noticing that the fluctuation stopped moving. "Is this it?" 

He shot his mana sense into the magic fluctuation, and it made a small popping sound before disappearing. A few moments later, a magic circle appeared, it's shine enveloping the whole forbidden section. Then, with cracking sounds, it disappeared and in it's place stood a simple looking door. 

"Finally. The core section!" Noah smiled in relief. He wasted enough time tracking down the magic fluctuations around and he was worried that he wouldn't be able to get the demonic spellbook before headmaster Victor's return. 

Now, his frown disappeared, and in it's place was a charming smile. The door opened with a creak, and Noah looked inside. It was a small stone room with a small black pedestal in the middle. 

Surrounding the pedestal were a few torches and countless paper talismans, all worn out by time. Finally, on the pedestal rested a thick black book. 

The words on it shined red like blood, and if one listened to it long enough they would feel their soul being pulled on. 

After checking that there were no traps, Noah entered inside and picked up the demonic spellbook. However in that moment, something unexpected happened. "It wasn't a dream... Freedom!!!" A demonic voice spread out across the forbidden section, filled with joy. 

"A demon soul?! And such a high Rank?!" Noah felt the powerful fluctuations the demon soul gave out and took a step back. [These fluctuations... It's a General Rank demon!] "Finally, after hundreds of years, I finally escaped!! Hahahahaha!!" 

The demon soul was extatic. [He's a loud one. If I didn't place multiple sound proof spells, I'm afraid that the whole school would've heard it.] After calming down, the demon soul turned to Noah. 

"Are you the one who freed me from my prison? As thanks, allow me to take your body and I will definitely use it well!" 

With a laugh, the demon soul flew towards Noah intent on possessing him. [Damnit. I didn't expect the school to actually have a sealed demon inside it. What the hell was the person who did that thinking!?] 

"Ah well. I'll take you on." Noah allowed the demon soul to fly into him without resistance. He would have to gamble and try to seal the demon soul inside of his body. "Hehehehe, now the time of my rebirth is nigh. I, the great-" 

The demon soul now touched Noah's body. "Aaaaaarrrgggghhhhh!!!!!!!!" Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed out throughout the forbidden section. 

The scream was so great that Noah's ears began bleeding, but Noah wasn't paying attention to that. He was now stunned speechless. 

The demon soul rushed at him, but a moment later it bounced off as if a small ball hit a metal wall. The demon soul was also equally stunned. "W-w-w-what was that?!? Aaarrggh!! It burns!" 

The demon soul quickly flew away from Noah. "What are you?! What was that golden light?!" Fear now gripped the demon soul. He had never in in his life heard of a person possessing golden light inside of himself. 

Noah was greatly surprised by the soul's reaction. But immediately he began to think of anything that might be the cause. "Could it be... My golden soul?" 

It was the only thing that made sense, and also the only golden thing that Noah had. Just now, he felt blood oozing out of his ears. 

[This was done by that demon's scream. The damaged ears are just extra, it's main purpose is to damage souls. And yet, I suffered no damage to my soul now.] A realization suddenly struck, and Noah could feel himself gulping in excitement. 

It sounded impossible, no, inconceivable, but true. "...I am immune to soul attacks and possession of soul bodies?" "What the hell kind of bullshit is that?! That's impossible!!!" The demonic soul wailed in terror after hearing Noah speak to himself. 

[I can barely believe it, but if it is true, then that changes everything. I have to confirm this.] Noah turned to look at the demon soul. 

"Hey, hey, little soul, didn't you want to possess me? Come here then, I won't harm you~" He put on the nicest smile he could, which made him look like a smile of a handsome angel. 

But to the demon soul that still felt the burning sensation from before, this smile was more akin to the smile of cruelest of demons. "S-stay back..." 

In the next fifteen minutes, horrifying screams echoed throughout the forbidden section of the school library. In the end, the demon soul was returned into the demonic spellbook. 

"Now, let's check out the book." Noah opened the book in a good mood. "Hm?" It was empty. The pages were completely white, as if nothing was ever written on them. 

"...What the hell is this?" Even after using a couple of spells to find any hidden letters, Noah found nothing. 

"...Are you kidding me?" After spending some more time looking, he began shaking the spellbook around. "Demon soul, get out right now or I will burn you again." After hearing his cold voice, the demon soul slowly crawled out from the spellbook. 

"Y-yes, Your Excellency? How may this lowly soul help you?" "Cut the bullshit. Why is this book empty?" Noah's mood was now sour.

"W-well you see, the truth is that this book has always been empty. I was just using it as a vessel while I regained strength. Some Mages found the spellbook and I took the chance to influence his mind so that he believes that the book is actually a precious treasure. I planned to gather enough strength so that I can possess him, but while I was in my slumber, the Mages left me in this room and hasn't returned since."

After listening to the demon's story, Noah helplessly sighed. "I see now. It must've been the founder of the academy. So, how about we make a deal, you and me?" "Hm? What kind of deal?" 

The demon soul asked with interest. "I'll return you to where you came from and in return you listen to me and stay inside the book until that happens. Good enough?" After some thought, the demon soul answered. 

"Alright. I accept." "Good, now return- Hm?" Noah noticed that blood was now pouring out of his nose, mouth, ears and eyes. "Oh. The time is up. Before we leave, what is your name?" 

"Call me Niolo." The demon soul answered. "I see. Call me Noah." After erasing any evidence of his presence, Noah quickly left the library. 

He made his way to the showers where he washed away all the blood before quickly moving towards his room. "Hm?" In front of the door to his room stood Anastasia with a worried look on her face. 

"Ah, there you are." She said. "My apologies, I was a bit busy these past couple of days. Go in. We'll start right away." The girl nodded with a blushed face.


	23. Chapter 23

Half an hour later, Anastasia exited Noah's room, still a bit red in the face. "Make sure no one sees you coming out of this room. I don't want rumors going around the academy." Noah said as he excorted her outside. 

"Of course. But, I have a question. How long will this treatment have to go on? It would be quite awkward if we continued this for a long time." Noah nodded in understanding. The method he employed isn't meant for curing the symptoms, only for stalling them. 

In the end, without Noah, Anastasia would still face the same fate as before. It was understandable for her to be worried. 

"If you want to completely cure your condition, bring me a fruit of a Fireleaf Tree, an Ice Poppy, a fang of a Maduru Snake and the honey of Thunder Bees. Only then will you be cured for good." 

"Eh? Those ingredients, aren't they really rare and expensive? And what will you do with them? How will that cure me?" Anastasia asked. "Not really my problem. You have until the graduation. Make something up, get your father to buy it for you if you can't yourself." 

Anastasia sighed seeing that she would receive no answer from Noah. "Fine fine, keep your secrets. You did help me after all. I will do my utmost, but, are you absolutely certain that I will be completely cured?" 

"Yes." Seeing Noah being so confident, Anastasia decided to trust him. Although the ingredients he listed would surely cost a lot of money, in comparison to her life it was acceptable. 

Anastasia excused herself and promptly left. Noah closed the door and placed sound isolating spells. He pulled out the demonic spellbook out of his silver ring and placed it on the table. 

"You can come out now." Slowly, the demon soul Niolo exited the spellbook and took a look around the room. "That's a fancy room you have here, my friend. Not bad, not bad. Although it still doesn't hold a candle to my private quarters back at home." 

[When did we become friends?] Noah didn't say anything and sat down in his chair. Niolo used the time to look through the window of the room and saw the school courtyard and the capital city outside. 

"All these uniforms, are we at a school?" "Yes. The Hebrion academy in the capital of the Lidour kingdom." Noah answered. 

"A capital huh? Interesting. When I was sealed, this place was a small town. It looks completely unrecognizable now. So, what do these students study here?" Noah looked at the curious demon soul for a moment before answering. 

"The usual. They learn how to become Mages and Warriors." "And dark magic as well?" "No, dark Mages are forbidden on the continent for hundreds of years now. Why ask?" Noah looked confused. 

"Well that kid over there has a smell of demons on him." "What?" This sudden revelation startled Noah. He didn't know about any dark Mage in the academy. 

"Where? Show me." He looked out the window and ordered. "That guy down there. The fat kid." Niolo pointed towards the academy courtyard. 

Among the students there a single young man who stood out with his build. He was fat, and had slick brown hair. On his face was a beaming smile that radiated friendliness. 

He was surrounded by other students and was happily talking with them. Noah recognised him immediately. "Robert Donell Jr." The young man currently talking with everyone is the villain who will instigate a coup d'etat in the future and become the emperor. 

"I didn't expect him to have help from demons." Noah fell into thought. A minute later, he asked Niolo. "Can you tell what grade the demon on his side is?" "Easy. It's a trivial early General Rank demon." 

"Hmm..." Noah again began thinking. "Looks like he's about to leave. Do you want to go and say hi?" "I might just do that. You're coming with me." Niolo returned to the spellbook and Noah hurried downstairs. 

By now, Robert Jr. was on his way to his room. Just as he was about to enter, a voice called out from behind him. "Robert Donell Jr." "Hm?" Robert turned around and saw a handsome young man with a cold look in his eyes behind him. 

He recognized him in an instant. "Oh, so it's lord Noah Wimbeldon! What brings the biggest genius of our generation here?" Robert showed his most brilliant smile as he bowed in respect. 

"Do you have a place where we can talk in private?" Noah asked. Robert was confused about why Noah would talk to him, especially in private, but he didn't let it show on his face. 

"Of course, of course. Having a talk with such a majestic genius as yourself is my honor. My room is currently empty as my roommates are outside. Please, come in." Robert politely invited Noah in, and they entered. 

The room looked a lot like what Noah remembered from his previous life. Cramped, messy, small. There was only enough place for three beds, as well as only a single desk and night cabinet, both of which were meant to be shared. 

There were also no bookshelves filled with books. Only the rooms belonging to the top students would have that. This was done on purpose, so that the students would work harder and rise in rankings. 

Robert's side of the room was the only one that looked clean. He put on a wry smile as he looked embarrassed. 

"My apologies lord Noah, my roommates are of peasant descent. They can be a bit... dirty." Although he appeared apologetic, Noah could sense a hint of disgust in Robert's voice. 

"Nevermind that. I don't care." "Ah, you really are a spectacular and tolerant man lord Noah." Robert continued to shower Noah with praises. "Let's get back on the subject. Robert, what is your attribute and talent?" 

"Hm? It's B rank talent and earth attribute, lord Noah. Is that what you wanted to talk about?" Robert looked confused. Noah answered after a few moments. "...I see. So you made a contract with a demon so that you can increase your talent." 

Although Noah said it like it was normal, Robert's mind almost exploded from shock. However, he kept his cool on the outside. "Haha, lord Noah, I'm afraid I don't understand." [How did he know?] 

"And it's an early General Rank demon. Not bad, although it had to have been expensive, huh?" Noah continued.

[He knew that as well? How? I did that a short while ago and I hid it perfectly.] "Lord Noah, I'm afraid I really don't understand what you mean. Demons are such scary creatures, I would never dare to mess with one." 

Short silence ensued. Then, Noah began clapping, which left Robert puzzled. "Nice composure. It looked almost natural. Although, you might not have noticed, but your left eye slightly twitched there. I suggest you work on that in the future. But it was good for a beginner. Exactly as I would expect from someone with an ambition to become an emperor." 

Robert was so now utterly stupefied that he accidentally spoke his thoughts aloud. "How did you-" 

"Know? Yes, I know. A lot, in fact. You being supported by dark Mages for example. And the fact that you're whole current personality is just a facade you made for yourself so that you can get support for your coup in the future. You can drop the act now. Don't you get tired of constant asskissing?" 

"... Haaaahh." Robert let out a sigh before once again looking at Noah. But this time, there was no smile on his face. He now looked at him with coldness in his eyes. "Indeed I do."


	24. Chapter 24

"Now then, what should I do with you? I can't just let you go after saying so much." Robert looked at Noah with a fierce gaze as if he was ready to attack at any moment. 

"Are you going to attack me while we are in the academy? Surely you aren't that stupid? Or are you confident in that demonic artifact on your finger?" Noah looked at a seemingly ordinary ring on Robert's left hand. 

"You knew about that as well? Just how much do you know?" "I have no reason to tell you." "Bastard. What do you want from me?" Robert carefully observed this young man in front of him. 

He didn't think that Noah was stupid enough to confront him for no reason. He had to have some motive for doing that. 

"How about we form an alliance?" "Huh?" Robert looked at Noah as if he was looking at an idiot. "Alliance? You're joking right?" "No. I want to form an alliance with you. Purely beneficial, obviously." 

Seeing that Noah was completely serious got him thinking. Why would Noah, a talented student who is also a first-born son of a Grand Duke want to make an alliance with him instead of reporting him to the authorities or the Church? 

What would he get from that? As he thought, there were a few conclusions that made sense, one more than the others. [I cannot believe this. It sounds crazy, and yet makes perfect sense.] Seeing the apsurdity of the thought, he began laughing.

"I see now. So you're the same as me, huh?" Instead of answering, Noah showed a bright smile. This reaction only made Robert laugh again. 

"Wow, you're crazy. Alright, you entertained me so I might as well hear you out first. But before that, there's something I'd like to know." 

"Go ahead." "Why are you a dark Mage? Isn't your life pretty great already? And in the future, you will undoubtedly become a high Ranked Mage. You're also a first-born of your family. You'll be a Grand Duke in the future, second only to the crown."

"On the other hand, the consequences of being found out aren't just death, you know? You'll be hunted down like an animal, interrogated, tortured, crippled, tied to a cross and publicly shamed before being left to die of starvation. And that is only if you are the lowest tier dark Mage."

"The risks outnumber the rewards in your case. That's why I'm so interested." Noah smiled again. "Oh, that? Well it's quite simple actually. Those things are useless to me. I have a higher goal in mind instead of living a subservient life. Just like you." 

"Hehehe... Hahahaha!" Robert almost roared with laughter before calming down. "Excellent answer. Now you have my attention. What can you offer me and what do you want?" 

"Power and knowledge." Noah answered. "What I want is your help when I ask for it, be it information or resources." "Haa? I think I heard you wrong, what did-" Before Robert could finish his sentence he suddenly felt an immense weight on his entire body. 

"Guh!" [What pressure! It's like a mountain is on my shoulders!] The weight pulled him down on the ground. Not wanting to kneel down, he began sweating all over. 

"T-this is... A pressure from a Ranked Mage! You're a ranked mage!!!" Robert cried out in shock. 

[I cannot believe this! The level of this pressure! It's weaker than my old man, but it's stronger than those dark mages I've dealt with before. Those mages were Paragon Rank. That means... That means...] "O-Officer... Rank?" His voice was shaking from shock.

"Correct. I expected you to at least know that." Noah replied back with a smile and lifted his pressure on Robert. 

"This is crazy. Who are you? Are you really Noah Wimbeldon? Or did you actually kill him and took his place?" Robert observed Noah with dread. He still couldn't believe what was in front of his eyes. 

Noah's answer only confirmed it. "That's ridiculous. You know as well as I do that a Mage of a higher Rank would immediately find out about it, in my case my father." 

"...... This is driving me nuts." Robert rubbed his temples in frustration. "A fifteen year old Officer Rank Mage. Do you know how insane this sounds?" "Yes. So, what do you say?" Robert scoffed at Noah's answer. 

"You fucking monster. Are you even really human?" Contrary to his words, Robert's mouth was curving up in a smile. "Of course I accept." Why wouldn't he accept? 

Noah was right now the youngest Officer Rank Mage in the history of the entire continent. A fifteen year old Officer Rank Mage. These words constantly rolled around Robert's mind. 

[I've only heard that they exist, but could it be true? Could this guy actually be one of those people who have a tinniest bit of potential to become a legendary Sovereign Rank?] 

His body shuddered at that thought. [If so, I must never let this guy go!] How crazy would it be to have a sovereign rank behind him? Who wouldn't want to lick his feet for his favor then? "We have a deal." 

"Excellent. Although, I suggest that you keep our deal a secret from the people who support you." "Don't worry, I understand how to keep my cards hidden." "That's a relief." Noah replied. 

"You must be busy with your own things, so I'll leave you alone. Call if you need help." "You as well." With those parting words Noah returned to his room. "And now, we wait."


	25. Chapter 25

The sun shone brightly on the Wimbeldon estate, and sounds of small insects echoed throughout. Summer had arrived, and with it the end of the first school year. 

Outside of the manor, the knights who serve the estate trained with their swords. "Hah! Hah!" Timothy, now fourteen years old, swung his sword down over and over. 

He was shirtless, and sweat poured down his muscly toned body. "Mhm. You're doing well. Just keep it up." Nicolas observed Timothy's training from the side. 

Secretly, he was a little surprised. Timothy already mastered all the basics he taught him in a short time of a couple of months

[He practices like this every day, never stopping. Not even the soldiers in the army practice with this intensity and passion. He must really love swords.] Although Nicolas was partially correct, he didn't notice that Timothy would occasionally glance in a single direction. 

He was glancing at Noah, who was sitting under the shade alongside Elizabeth and Octavia. Noah didn't notice his glance however, as he was currently getting chewed out by Octavia. 

"So once again, you still didn't choose a girl for yourself even after I went through all that trouble hmm?" Octavia had a smile that could only be described as scary. "I'm sorry." Noah apologized. "And you also didn't make any new friends, again?" 

"I'm sorry." He responded with an apologetic expression, although inside he was annoyed. [Tch. This can't go on like this. She's too annoying. Looks like I'm actually going to be forced to find myself a fiancee.] 

"Brother Noah, if you don't find yourself a fiancee, you might spend the rest of your life alone. It's better to hurry up, you know. Time can't be turned back." Elizabeth smiled gently toward him. 

"I'll keep it in mind, sister." After Octavia and Elizabeth returned inside the manor, Noah sighed in hopelessness. [I can't even kill people who annoy me. The noble life is truly suffocating.]

"Don't worry big brother!" Timothy finished his training and approached Noah. "I'm sure you'll find the right one for you!" He lightly patted Noah on the back and smiled. 

"Thank you, younger brother." Noah smiled back. [I don't want to hear anything from a virgin whose love of his life dies in the future.] Noah returned to his room and lied on the bed, bored. 

He really had nothing to do ever since he acquired the demonic spellbook. "Oh right, I guess it's time to take a look at the Black Market." He had forgotten about wanting to visit the underground market as he was busy finding the demonic spellbook. 

With his final goal out of the way, it wouldn't hurt to relax a little and take a stroll around the Black Market.

In the afternoon, Noah took the carriage to Ilsa, the only city in the Wimbeldon family territory. This time he managed to shake off Timothy and Elizabeth and was now going alone. 

Having arrived at the city, he began walking around aimlessly while releasing his mana sense. After fifteen minutes, he found what he was looking for. [There it is.] 

In one of the many dark alleyways stood two armored guards with swords in their hands. They were guarding an ordinary wooden door, which is actually an entrance to the underground market.

Noah found a place to hide, and took out a black robe from the silver ring he looted off the old dark Mage woman. 

He put on the robe and he cast a spell to change his voice. The two guards let him in without any problems or questions once he registered himself. 

Behind the ordinary wooden door was a stone staircase, heading deep down underground and dimly lit with magic lamps. 

At the bottom of the stairs could be seen a huge open space, filled with people of various looks and origins. It looked like a city by itself. 

This "city" was split into multiple districts, the shop district, the red light district, the entertainment district and the management district at the very center. 

[Finally I see something normal since my rebirth.] Noah smelled the air. It was stuffy and reeked of alcohol and various kinds of plants. 

Although there existed holes and magic formations for ventilation it was still hard to get used to the smell. He didn't mind it and began walking towards the shop district. 

The shop district consisted of buildings with many rooms that could be rented by noble families that wanted to set up a stand for their business. 

If a family or an organization was wealthy enough they could even build their own shop. For that reason the difference between the rich and poor were very obvious. 

Nobody paid any attention to Noah. He wasn't the only person who hid his identity in this place, in fact, it could be said that he was in the majority. 

There were people of all races here, but they all had a single thing in common. They were Ranked Mages. 

Apart from the people who worked here, not a single person here was weaker than a Paragon Rank Mage. Noah listened to the loud crowd on the streets while he looked for something useful. 

"Hey, that tiger fruit is too expensive, a hundred middle grade mana crystals?! Are you crazy?!"

"Buy it or leave it, not my problem."

"I want to sell this dragon vine, what do you say?"

"Hmm, it's in good condition. How about two middle grade crystals and fifty low grade ones?"

Fierce bartering echoed out everywhere. [Hmm, I only have ten middle grade mana crystals that I looted from the old woman. This isn't that good. Looks like it's time to go back to potion making.] 

Noah quietly contemplated while looking around with his mana sense. This was another reason as to why all the buyers here were Ranked Mages. 

Ranked mages were in a whole different world in comparison to ordinary people. Because of that they have a different monetary system. 

Where ordinary people have money that ranges from copper, bronze, silver and gold coins, Ranked Mages use mana crystals and determine their value based on their grade. 

The grades range from low, middle, high to highest grade mana crystals. One middle grade crystal is worth a hundred low grade crystals, one high grade crystal is worth a hundred middle grade crystals and one highest grade is worth a hundred high grade crystals. "Sigh..." 

"Hey, you bastard! You just bumped into me!" Everyone turned to look at the place where a yell echoed out. Noah looked at a middle aged man in front of him. 

The man wore ragged robes and had a scar stretching across his face. He was yelling at Noah and drawing attention to the two of them. 

[This guy... judging by his appearance he is a rouge mage, and a paragon. Must be someone he recently broke through.] "Me?" 

"Yes, you! How dare you bump into me?! Are you looking to die? Hand over everything you have and I'll spare you as I'm in a good mood!" The middle aged man raged.


	26. Chapter 26

Noah looked at the mage in front of him as if he was looking at an idiot. [Can't this guy see that I'm stronger than him?] He then figured out what was wrong. 

"Oh, my apologies for that." The middle aged mage looked at his expression and only got angrier. "What are you, fucking slow? You think I'm joking?!" 

He released the pressure of a Paragon Rank as he yelled. The people on the streets made some space for them and decided to quietly observe. 

"I actually forgot that I was keeping it sealed up." Following Noah's words, a much stronger pressure than before covered the area. The middle aged mage and the people around them felt the weight of a mountain on their shoulders, forcing them to kneel to the ground. 

"A-a-an Officer Rank?" The middle aged mage was terrified as he realized what he had just provoked. "Now, since you attacked me first, you must know what will happen." 

Noah's emotionless words made his entire being shake in terror. With no hesitation, the Mage slammed his head into the ground as he repeatedly kowtowed. 

"P-please, your Excellency! Please find it in your heart enough mercy to spare this lowly bug's pathetic life! I will offer anything in return!" Noah listened to the man's pitiful begging with indifference before eventually launching a mana slash. 

"Nooo!!" The mana slash cut the mage in two, splattering blood and gore everywhere. He picked up the man's storage ring off his finger and left. 

Once the pressure disappeared, the streets returned to their usual loud selves. No one cared about the corpse on the floor, and it was later picked up and thrown away like garbage.

......

It was now the welcoming ceremony for the new first year students. This time, there were no A rank talents like last year. "Timothy Wimbeldon, B rank talent, no element." 

Timothy returned to his seat and waited until the rest of the students had their turn. He was excited about his talent and couldn't wait to tell his big brother. 

Once he entered into his room he quickly chose his bed and ran out. After asking around he found where the library was and stormed right in. There, he sat next to Noah. "Big brother, big brother! You won't believe what rank my talent is!"

"B rank, no element?" Noah answered not even looking at him. "Uff, that's big brother Noah for you. You really know everything." Timothy smiled wryly. "That's not true. Also, you should feel proud. B rank talent is pretty good. I'm proud of you." 

Although Noah said that with an emotionless voice and expression, Timothy brightened up immediately after hearing his genius brother's praise. "By the way, big brother, what do you usually do every day?" Noah looked at Timothy and asked in confusion. 

"I read books, I eat, I sleep. Why do you ask?" "Oh, it's nothing." Timothy was honestly taken aback by the response. [I know that I expected this answer, but still... Well it is big brother...] 

"Anyway, where is that girl that you are friends with?" "I don't know." Noah answered nonchalantly. "Isn't she the daughter of the prime minister? I know that you are looking for a fiancee, did you try to get closer to her?" 

"What's with these questions all of a sudden? Where you sent by mother to persuade me?" Timothy instantly shut up. [He found out.] The look he received from Noah confirmed this thought.

"Haha, no of course not. Anyway, now that I said hi, I'm going back to my room. I have to meet my roommates. Ok, see you big brother!" He stormed out of the library with great speed. 

Noah stayed behind and continued reading a book. "I got your message. What did you want to see me for?" Anastasia sat down opposite to him. "I have a favor I would like to ask of you." Noah said in a troubled voice.

"So even you have problems, huh? Alright, what do you need?" "I need you to be my fiancee." Noah answered with a serious face. "Excuse me?" What he received was a flabbergasted look on her face. 

Noah could only rub his temples in frustration as he began reiterating his mother's constant requests and nagging. "And now you know." 

"I see. But why me? You can choose any other girl. Aren't you concerned about me finding out something I'm not supposed to?" Anastasia looked at the boy in front of her. 

His proposal was quite tempting. Both of them come from influential families and both of them are geniuses in magic. Also, since Anastasia is a girl there is no way for her to inherit the family head title. 

She knew that her father would immediately accept this arrangement the moment he finds out. [It can't be helped I guess, at the very least Noah isn't ugly or lecherous. It might... not be so bad.] 

She buried her feelings in her heart and thought that she would be doing a good thing for the family. 

"That doesn't matter. I chose you because without me, you'll definitely die. You can say that I have you on a leash. However, we need to set up some rules." "Rules?" Anastasia looked interested. 

"We won't pry about each other's lives, we won't touch each other, we won't act lovey dovey, we won't kiss nor have any kind of physical relationship. I leave you alone, you leave me alone. If we have to act in public, then that's unavoidable, but in private I want these rules to exist." 

"... You're a weird person, that's for sure." [Why do I somehow feel insulted?] "Who cares. Do you accept?" "If that's the case, why wouldn't I?" She smiled. 

"Perfect." Noah also showed an angel like smile. "Then let's quickly make this official. Please tell your father the first chance you get." "Of course." Both of them left the library in a happy mood.


	27. Chapter 27

It didn't take long for the whole kingdom to know about Noah's and Anastasia's engagement. There were no complaints from his mother's side, and Noah could finally let out a sigh of relief. 

Although the announcement was followed by the sounds of many young noble's hearts breaking, no one dared to make trouble for him. 

Everything was perfect. [And then he appears.] Noah looked with a beaming youth in front of him with a frown.

"Brother, look! I beat another upperclassman! I am now in the top 100! Soon I'll get to top 50!" Timothy excitedly reported. Ever since he came to the academy he has been looking for a chance to spare with Noah again. 

Noah lied to him that he can only spar with him if he achieves the rank of number 2 on the ranking list. 

Since then Timothy has wasted every day challenging anyone above him in rank. It resulted in him earning the interest of other students. 

Noah looked at the clock. It showed 2 pm. "Oh, it's time for lunch. Don't forget to eat, younger brother. The sparring can wait." "Alright! See you later, brother Noah!" Noah slowly walked to the cantina. 

These days, he had nothing to do, so he was bored. He also read all the books in the library several times. He sat down on his chair and began eating absent mindedly. "...ah. Noah!" Thomas called out to him multiple times.

"What is it?" Noah looked at Thomas. "Just wanted to say that you're a one lucky man, you know!" "Mm." Noah averted his gaze and continued eating. "Haha." 

Thomas awkwardly smiled. He felt that this Grand Duke's son is the toughest person to speak to in the world. "Anyway, that brother of yours, Timothy, what do you... Hey, Noah? Noah!" 

"What is it?" Noah looked at him again. "Haaahhh. You're killing me, you know that?" Thomas helplessly sighed.

"I am not." "Anyway, what do you think, will Timothy be able to enter the top 10?" The rest of the top 10 students looked towards them with interest. 

They were also wondering if Timothy is capable of such a feat. "No." "Oh, what makes you say that?" Noah looked for a moment at Maya who chimed in and continued. 

"He's too weak and too inexperienced. He doesn't know how the world works." "What does that mean?" "You'll see after you leave the academy." With that Noah left for his room.

*Knock knock!* Noah opened the door and saw Anastasia and Maya standing in front. "What is it?" "Oh, hey. We are all going to a party this weekend. We were invited by a good friend of mine and they said that they would like to see you come as well." Maya said. 

"This is the invitation." "I'm not going. Is there anything else you need?" He looked at Anastasia, who shook her head with a wry smile. "Then goodbye. Enjoy yourselves." He closed the door immediately after. 

"Ah, he makes me so angry!!!" Maya started complaining the whole way back to her room. 

"What is his problem?! I've never seen that guy go anywhere fun! He always spends his time in the library! What "Child of the library"! He should be called "The Boring Genius"! And did you see how he behaved towards you, his fiancee? Hmph! No manners towards a lady!" 

"Calm down. We both know that we were expecting him to refuse. It would've been surprising had he accepted." Anastasia answered. 

"I know, but it still makes me angry! It's like he's an old man with a fragile back! He also acts like one!" [Hmm, an old man... He definitely seems more mature than many of the people I know. It is weird.] 

At the same time, Noah was dragged out by Timothy out of his room and forced to hang out with him. [When are these two years going to pass already...] 

Time passed, and Timothy managed to reach the rank 11 on the students list. However his winning streak stopped there, as he was unable to defeat Maya no matter how many times he challenged her.


	28. Chapter 28

Two years went by in a flash. Noah had graduated from the Hebrion academy and was now back in his home in the Wimbeldon estate. 

In his hand was a letter of acceptance sent to him by the Court Mage Order. However, instead of his usual emotionless face Noah was deep in thought and frowning. 

[It changed.] He remembered the end of his final school year. The rest of the top 10 students. In Noah's past life these individuals achieved the Paragon Rank before their graduation, marking this year as the academy's golden age. 

But this time, none of them were even close to the threshold. It greatly surprised him. [This definitely has to have a connection to me, but how? I didn't change much of the overall past. Even me showing off my powers should have motivated them. So what happened?] 

He rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Haaah, well it doesn't matter, it's not like they're important for my goal. I should focus on the task at hand." 

He had gotten a letter of acceptance from the court mage order. His family was overjoyed when they found out, and Noah was also happy. This was his ticket out of here. He would leave for the capital in two days. "And then the plan begins."

......

The day of departure arrived. Noah was kissed and hugged all over by Octavia and Elizabeth. Timothy looked a little sad, but that was quickly replaced by a happy smile when Noah said that he would visit home a lot. 

"I'll definitely become stronger the next time you see me, big brother!" "Alright, you can show it to me next time." "It's a promise!" Timothy gave him a strong hug before letting go. "Be careful out there. Study a lot and you'll be fine." 

Nicolas patted Noah's shoulder somewhat awkwardly. "I'll make you proud respected father. Goodbye." Noah was happy as he said his goodbyes to his family.

He entered the carriage and sat down. His personal belongings were on the top of the carriage, and the only other person going was the old coachman. The carriage set out for the capital. 

A couple of days passed and the carriage was now half way between the capital and the estate. [It's time.] Noah released his mana sense and scanned the surrounding two kilometers of the forest. 

What he saw made him frown. There was a man dressed in black clothes following the carriage from afar. 

The feeling he gave off was that of a Paragon. Noah thought of one person who would send someone after him. [Sister. I don't know if I should curse you or thank you.] 

"I need to hurry up." Noah told the coachman to stop the carriage. "What is it, young master?" "I need to go to the forest for a moment. Wait here." 

The coachman obediently stayed behind and Noah quickly disappeared between the trees. 

He then put on a black cloak and began stealthily moving among the trees, all the while paying attention to the hidden assassin. Noah moved like a true predator, and the assassin didn't notice anything until it was too late. 

"Who-" The assassin tried to attack the mysterious figure in front of him, but before he could the figure grabbed his face and said. "Soulsearch." 

The assassin felt his mind being pierced by a force far greater than he ever felt. His own mana sense was destroyed like paper and his entire life began flashing in front of his eyes. 

Blood poured out of his every orifice, and with gurgling sounds he fell to the ground, dead. The noise alerted the coachman. "Young master?" 

Noah picked up the assassin's corpse and walked back. "Young master, I heard a weird noise nearby. Are-" 

"That was me." The coachman shut up immediately. "I wasted some time. I need to hurry." "Young master?" The coachman looked at Noah who began muttering to himself. He then saw Noah point at him with his hand. The coachman felt a sense of danger at that moment. 

It only intensified when a ball of fire appeared in front of Noah's palm and was pointed towards him. "W-wait!" Noah ignored the coachman's words as he shot a fireball towards the carriage. 

"Aaaahh!" An explosion engulfed the carriage and destroyed it. With a scream, the coachman was turned into a charred corpse. Noah took out the assassin's corpse and drained it's blood. 

On the side of the carriage that wasn't completely destroyed he drew a ghost face that was both crying and laughing at the same time. 

He stored the corpse again and took out white powder and sprinkled it all around the area to attract monsters. Finally, he made fake footprints everywhere and used the trees to escape. He was running in a single direction.

......

At the same time, a single carriage left the Donell estate and was half way towards the capital. The carriage was driven by one and surrounded by four knights on horseback. 

At night, while the knights sat in front of the campfire, Robert Donell Jr. sat in his carriage in thought. [He should be here already. Don't tell me that something happened?] 

The person who said that would be here before the night fell was late. It made Robert's mood foul. "Who are you? Identity yourself!" 

A knight's voice woke Robert out of his thoughts. He opened the door of the carriage. "What's happening?" "My apologies for being late. I had to take care of an annoyance." 

A figure dressed in a black cloak took out a small ring with a symbol of a crown ingraved on it. The knights bowed with respect. "We welcome the esteemed Elder." "You're here. I trust there have been no problems?" Robert invited the person inside his carriage.

"They can't hear us in here. You can talk without a problem." "Good." The person removed his hood and revealed a handsome young man with brown hair. 

It was Noah, and he was now smiling happily. "Are those knights outside trustworthy?" He asked. "Don't worry. I've selected only the most loyal to escort me. Of course I made some precautions to ensure maximum loyalty." Noah nodded approvingly. There is never enough caution.

"So, how many days do we have before everything goes to shit?" "I calculated everything. I'm not expected to arrive for at least three more days, then the carrier hawk that has to go back will take two to three days. A week should be an appropriate amount." Noah answered. 

"Good. I prepared everything. You will pose as my personal mage that is assigned to me by my helpers. His name is Xander, and luckily for you he's a silent fellow. Just keep quiet and everything will work out." Robert pulled out a set of clothes out of his silver ring and gave it to Noah.

.......

Three days later, the Donell family carriage arrived at the capital. Wasting no time they quickly moved towards the center of the capital. 

In the center stood a huge ring made out of a shiny golden material. The ring was guarded by Ranked Mages and Warriors, instead of ordinary guards. 

All the guards were Officer Rank, signifying that the importance of this ring is secondary only to the royal castle. The knights paid the transportation fee of two hundred high grade mana crystals and stood in front of the ring. 

The golden ring was now filled with blue shiny symbols, and after a moment a light blue transparent portal appeared. The carriage entered the portal and exited on the other side. 

The other side was a small city of 500 000 people. Although it wasn't ugly by any means, for a person from the capital this city would look like dirty slums. 

From the looks of the buildings to the city walls, all of it looked repulsive in comparison to the majestic capital. 

"Here we are. Slanta city. Why did you want to come to this insignificant small town, though?" Robert asked curiously. To him, this city had nothing good to offer. 

If it wasn't for Noah's request, he wouldn't come here once in his entire life. "That's a secret." Noah responded seriously. "Alright, I won't ask further. We say goodbye here. Also, here." 

Robert handed Noah a small magic device. "A telecommunication magic device. Impressive." "Hohoho, I have my means." Robert smiled slyly. 

Noah went his way. Just in case he was being followed he made several circles around the city before exiting through the city gate. He began traveling in a single direction for several hours, eventually stopping once it got dark. 

Various monsters could be heard through the pitch black darkness. The moon shined on the night sky, surrounded by countless stars. 

"Haha... Hahahaha!!!" Seeing the beautiful night sky, Noah roared with laughter, releasing his sealed officer rank pressure everywhere. 

"Finally, freedom!!!" His loud voice coupled with his pressure terrified the monsters hiding in the darkness. "Hahahahaha!!!"


	29. Chapter 29

The next morning, Noah took out the demonic spellbook out of his silver ring. "Niolo, you can come out now." 

The demon soul Niolo took a long look around the surroundings and asked. "You actually succeeded! We're free! This is excellent! Good work, my friend Noah!" 

After some celebration, Niolo looked around again and asked with confusion. "So, what now? Where are we going?" Noah smiled at his question. "We are going inheritance hunting."

......

A week passed since then. In the Wimbeldon estate, there have been no news from Noah. At first the family thought that Noah simply forgot or was too busy to write, but they soon got a carrier hawk from the Court Mage Order. 

Nicolas was the first to read it. It said that Noah never arrived at the capital. 

The Court Mage Order sent a representative to inquire what happened and in the end they found the destroyed carriage and a charred corpse with a laughing-crying ghost face painted in blood on the side. It was concluded that Noah was either kidnapped or killed by the dark mages. 

The Grand Duke's hands were shaking by the time he read the last words. [... For the family who lost their first-born the crown offers sincere condolences. We will do everything in our power to find and punish the ones responsible for this travesty.] 

Nicolas felt his mind go blank. The letter fell on the floor, and he lifelessly sunk into his armchair. 

"Father?" "Dear, what's wrong? What happened?" Octavia looked at Nicolas with a worried expression. Nicolas turned pale, sweat sliding down his face. He could only say a single word with a shaking voice. 

"... No." Octavia suddenly felt like an unpredecended tragedy struck. She quickly picked up the letter and began reading. Once she finished reading, she looked at Nicolas, her gaze asking if this is all just some bad joke. 

However, she received no such answer. "No. It... it can't..." Elizabeth and Timothy were scared by their parents reaction. Elizabeth herself was already imagining the worst. "Nooo!!" 

With a scream, Octavia fell unconscious. "Mother!" Timothy quickly supported his mother and laid her on the couch. Elizabeth picked up the letter and read it. 

Immediately after, tears began rolling down her face. "Sister..." Timothy looked at her with a scared expression. He began getting some clues as to what could have happened. 

Elizabeth handed him the letter without a word and ran to her room. Timothy's hands were shaking, and a feeling of nausea was spreading through his stomach. He prayed that his thoughts were wrong. 

As he continued to read, the feeling became worse and worse. In the end, it was true. No matter how much he denied it. His beloved older brother, the person he admired with all his heart was dead. 

Timothy couldn't stand being inside the room. It felt stifling. He had to run. He ran outside the manor, under the tree that he used to sit under with his brother and listen to stories. The memories hit him. 

He sat under the tree like he used to, as if this would bring his brother back. ["I'll definitely become stronger the next time you see me, big brother!" 

"Alright, you can show it to me next time." "It's a promise!"] He remembered Noah's last words. ["Goodbye."] The sky grew dark with black clouds. Small rain drops began falling. 

But Timothy didn't notice any of that. Over and over, he heard that word. Goodbye. "Why? Why did this happen?" He buried his head in his arms and began crying. The rain intensified, and quiet rumbling was heard in the distance. 

The next morning, the Grand Duke Nicolas Wimbeldon issued a proclamation: he would hunt down every dark Mage in the Lidour Kingdom. 

His men spread out throughout the entire kingdom to find the perpetrators and any possible remains of his son. The entire kingdom was shaken by the news, and the crown and the Church of Light were also involved.

"Hehehehe, what a shitshow." Robert Donell Jr. laughed from the comfort of his manor. 

......

On the other side of the Lidour kingdom, surrounding the border town of the kingdom stood a tall mountain range known as the Pestin Mountain Range. "So, can you tell me why we traveled for a month through a bunch of nothing and are now climbing a mountain?" 

Niolo asked somewhat bored. He was happy that he was now free, but there was nothing to do here in the wilderness. "We're here for an inheritance." Noah answered. 

"Okay, I get that, but do you even know where it is? I believe this is the fifth mountain we are scouring." 

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Noah answered confidently. He remembered the rumors about the inheritance found on this mountain range several years later. 

He didn't know which on mountain it was exactly, but that didn't matter. He had enough time. "Well, alright, my friend. I trust you enough. Hm? Wait, is that-!" "Yes, it is." Noah smiled. He could see a small cave in distance. The cave looked ordinary, but it had a small symbol carved next to it. 

The symbol depicted three eyes connected into a triangle. "Interesting symbol. You know to who it belongs to?" "Have you ever heard of Thousand Faces?" Noah asked. 

"Thousand Faces? Who's that?" "He was the most famous thief to ever live. A person who stole from anyone and everyone regardless of the faction or power. It was rumored that he once even stole something from a sovereign rank mage." 

"That's insane. So what happened? Did the sovereign erase his soul from existence?" "Surprisingly, no. No one ever knew who he was or even how he looked like. There were so many rumors about him that it's impossible to differentiate truth from lies. In the end, one day he simply disappeared. No one knows what happened to him." 

Noah answered. "He sounds like a very interesting human." Niolo concluded. "And you're saying that we are here to get such a legendary person's inheritance?" 

"Yes." Noah nodded and entered inside. The cave was dark, and after walking for a while, Noah came upon a hole in the ground. Above it, carved into the stone, were words "Make a leap of faith". 

"That's a pretty deep hole. Even with my mana sense I can't see the end." Noah also checked with his own mana sense, but even then the hole was too deep. 

"This hole most likely leads deep under the mountain." "Are you going to jump in?" Niolo asked. "Of course." Noah jumped in with no hesitation.


	30. Chapter 30

Time passed, but the hole showed no signs of ending. Noah has been falling for around fifteen minutes. At the same time he was using his mana sense to look down two kilometers. 

Soon, he saw that the next section of the walls was filled with sharp spears and blades. [This will be a bit difficult.] He remembered the assassin moves he learned in his previous life. 

The movements he used to stealthily get behind the assassin who was tracking him on the way to the capital showed themselves again. 

Like a true assassin, he twisted his body in midair every time next the spear and blade appeared. 

*Slice slice!*The tips of spears and blades cut into his skin, carving wounds all across his body. Since Noah was far from his past life self, the most he could do was avoid life threatening attacks. 

"Noah my friend, although I commend your moves, why don't you just destroy these weapons with spells? It seems very dumb to injure yourself like this." Since Niolo was a demon soul the attacks passed right through him so he was relaxed. 

"Why don't you pay attention to what kinds of weapons these are?" Noah nonchalantly asked while dodging the incoming weapons. Niolo listened and focused on the weapons in front. 

What he saw made his pupils dilate and shake in fear. "You're kidding me... All of these weapons are Officer and General Rank?!" He yelled. "Yes. So you know that trying to destroy all of these weapons is pretty much impossible for me." 

Noah calmly answered and continued dodging the weapons aimed at his vital spots. "This Thousand Faces guy wasted such precious weapons by sticking them in a wall?" 

Niolo felt like an entire new world opened in front of him. "Then why not just dig through the stone?" He asked. "I'm not a Earth Attribute Mage, and there's no way Thousand Faces didn't think of that. He most likely placed some dangerous trap in case that happened. I can't risk it." 

Soon, Noah saw a the end of the hole. "It's the end." However, immediately after he frowned. Stabbed in the ground, there were many spears pointing upwards. 

What's worse, all of those spears were General Rank weapons. "He really isn't making this easy." Noah was now falling at a great speed. Regardless if he dodged or not, he would still fall to his death and turn into meatpaste.

Instead, he pointed his right hand downwards and made a quick chant. "As an Officer of magic, I command thee, Chain Explosion." 

A twin magic circle appeared on the palm of his hand, and just when Noah was above the spears, three big explosions appeared in front of him! 

At the same time, Noah took out the skull cross artifact out of his spatial ring and poured mana into it. The eyes of the skull shone blood red, and a shield materialised around Noah, blocking the explosions in front. 

Using the force of the explosions Noah propelled himself upwards and flipped over. He landed on his feet, avoiding the spears aiming towards his heart and head, leaving him with another two wounds. 

"Nice job, Noah my friend. I almost thought you'd die there." "It seems like that's the end of it." Noah calmly exclaimed. "Yup. Look! There's an altar there! Must be what we're looking for." 

Niolo pointed towards a small altar in the distance. Above it was a giant symbol of three eyes connected into a triangle carved in the wall. 

Noah slid in-between the spears and carefully inspected the altar. "What are you waiting for, the inheritance is right there!" 

Niolo exclaimed. Noah didn't move nor speak, focusing entirely on the stone steps leading to the inheritance. 

Time passed, and the only thing that could be heard were drops of blood dripping on the cold stone floor. Finally, after an hour, Noah withdrew his mana sense and opened his eyes. 

"There are about a dozen traps here." "Really?" Noah nodded. "All of the steps look the same, but there are some that look a milimetre bigger than others. Those are the traps." 

"So what now?" Niolo asked. "I just have to avoid the traps." Noah lightly stepped on the stone steps and manuevered his way up. 

Now he was on the top of the altar. In front of him was a stone pedestal and on it a small box. "Ooohh, there it is! Let's go open it!" Noah carefully inspected the box, and seeing that it was safe, opened it. Both of them looked inside.


	31. Chapter 31

Inside was a crystal ball, a map and what looked to be jelly. It was dark pink in color and full of small black veins. 

It looked more like an organ, and when Noah touched it he found out that it was soft and slimy. "What the fuck is that? It looks disgusting." 

Niolo made a repulsed expression. Noah returned the jelly back into the box and took out the crystal ball.

Upon pouring some mana, the crystal ball shined with a blue light, and a transparent projection of an old man appeared. 

"Inheritor! You who shall take my mantle and continue the work I started. You must be wondering if this is all the treasure that I left behind. Fear not! This old man split his treasure into six different locations all across the continent! I've marked it all on the map inside this box. Also, this tomb holds the greatest treasure I ever possessed!" 

Noah and Niolo looked at the repulsive jelly inside. "You gotta be shitting me." "Do you see that jelly inside? You might not know, but that is actually an artifact!" The old man's statement surprised both of them. 

Noah was more surprised since he didn't feel anything from the jelly when he observed it. The projection continued speaking. 

"That is the reason why I was called Thousand Faces. I don't know what it is, but I found out that if you take a drop of blood from a person and drop it on the jelly, it will allow you to mask as that person for as long as you wear it!" 

"Even better, no one can tell who you are! I even escaped the eyes of a sovereign once thanks to it, hohohoho." Niolo looked at the old man projection speechless. 

"I wish you luck, inheritor. And remember, to steal the world, you must have three things. Knowledge, power and people. Only then will you be untouchable." With the end of the message, the crystal ball now began to grow dim.

"I admit, that's an interesting little thing- wait, Noah my friend?" Noah was looking at the jelly in his hand. On his face was a radiant but malevolent smile. [Oh no, he went crazy.] 

Niolo was reminded of the time when he was burned by Noah for experimentation. Noah had the same smile back then. "This might just be the valuable thing I will ever find." He said as he placed the jelly and the map in his spacial ring.

"Oh yeah, how do we exit this place?" Niolo looked around the cave. There was no sign of an exit in this place. "Simple." Noah turned towards the three eyes symbol on the wall. 

He pressed his hand in the middle of the symbol, and the wall was pushed in. The symbol opened like a gate and revealed a small stone room. On the floor of the room was a magic circle. 

Noah stood on the circle and waited for it to activate. At that moment, the dim crystal ball lit up again. "Warning, the cave has begun self destruction. Detonation begins in fifteen seconds. Fifteen, fourteen..." 

Niolo retreated into the demonic spellbook and Noah calmly listened to the countdown before teleporting. 

*Paat!* The teleportation ensued, and Noah was gone. "... ,five, four, three, two, one, zero." Explosions began echoing throughout the ground around the cave. 

The ceiling and the ground collapsed and everything was completely destroyed. At the same time, with a flash of light, Noah appeared on the mountain outside. 

The mountain rumbled a little, but that was it. "The first inheritance gotten. That was fun. Where are we going now?" Niolo asked. 

"I remember that there was a small village not too far away from the border town Deerfort. I want to test out the jelly." The two moved through the night to the border town. 

Twenty kilometers away from Deerfort was a small village populated by ordinary humans. Noah looked through the houses with his mana sense for a suitable person whose appearance he will take.

Finally, he settled on the son of the village elder, a young man with brown hair in his twenties and an ordinary, honest appearance. 

He easily sneaked into the house and into the man's room. He grabbed the sleeping man by the throat and clenched his fist.

*Craack!* The man died in an instant. Noah sneaked out of the village and cut the man's body up into tiny pieces. He took out the jelly and gave it a drop of blood. 

The drop of blood disappeared immediately, but there was no other reaction. Noah put the jelly on his face. In a flash, the jelly latched onto his face and stretched to cover the rest of his body. 

"Wow. That's amazing." Niolo commented while looking at Noah who now looked completely the same as the village chief's son. "It doesn't feel any different." Noah touched his skin. 

It felt the same. Even he could not tell that he was now in a changed appearance. "What an excellent artifact." He smiled. "Are we now going to the border town?" "Yes." Answered Noah. "We are leaving this kingdom."


	32. Chapter 32

The morning sun shined it's rays on the thick, sturdy walls of the border town Deerfort, situated only a couple of kilometers from the border of the Lidour Kingdom. 

Noah, now in a new look, entered the town without difficulty after he showed pressure befitting a paragon rank mage. He was only asked to keep his power under control so as to not harm ordinary citizens.

Noah had nothing to do in this town so he didn't linger. After buying some rations for travel he immediately left for the border. After paying a fee of five middle grade crystals, he was allowed to leave. 

His destination was the Akhulan Kingdom, situated north of Lidour Kingdom. Unlike when he exited his kingdom, when he approached the Akhulan Kingdom border he was let in for free. This was a small perk that Ranked Mages enjoyed. 

Since the sun was setting soon, Noah spent the night in the border town before setting out early in the morning. 

Once he deviated from the main road into the forest, he took out the demonic spellbook out of his spatial ring and released Niolo outside. 

"So we are now in the Akhulan Kingdom. Doesn't look much different than the past kingdom." He commented while looking around at the empty wilderness.

"That's because this is the southern part. We are traveling to the north, where it's cold and snowing." Noah explained. "How long will it take us?" Niolo asked. "Not long. A year, perhaps." 

"Haaaahh..." The demon sighed. He was already sick of the wilderness, and yet the crazy man in front of him was already going to another empty location. "Why don't we just use teleportation rings inside the cities? I'm sure that the kingdoms still have them." 

"We are poor. I only have five middle grade crystals, and you need two hundred to pay for transport. Also, after The Dark Era many teleportation rings were destroyed in the Endless War. The ones that are left intact are spread across the inner circle cities of their kingdoms. We would still need to travel for half a year to reach a city that has a ring." 

Niolo kept silent after that. He began traveling upwards, towards the faraway northern mountains.

......

Timothy was feeling horrible these past few months. Every evening he would stay awake for as long as he could, and every morning he would wake up as early as possible. 

Because of that thick dark circles formed under his eyes. He was tired and dispirited. And yet he still didn't sleep. He hated it. He feared it. 

Everytime he slept, he would have nightmares. He searched for information about dark mages and what he found out terrified him.

The various torture methods they used were described in gruesome and great details in all the books he read. 

He couldn't understand how a fellow human being could do such a thing to others, and the fact that his brother's body was never found made it all the worse. The assumptions turned into nightmares, and soon he found himself like this. 

He made his bed and walked to his classroom. He sat and listened to the professor more intently than anyone. 

Once the class ended, the professor would ask him if he was alright. He would always reply in a tired voice. "I'm alright. I just studied a bit late yesterday." The professor knew this was a lie, but he couldn't say that because of his brother's death Timothy's grades shot up exponentially. 

He could only pat the boy on the shoulder and offer some meaningless words of encouragement. 

Timothy looked outside. The sky was filled with black clouds, and the citizens wore thick leather jackets. It was winter, and to him that meant only one thing. 

[I'll have to go back home for the holidays.] That was the last place he wanted to be. Although the situation back home was better than before, there would still be an eerie feeling around everyone. 

Now that Noah was presumed dead, he had to study on how to lead the family in the future. He was also being slowly nudged by his mother to find himself a fiancee. 

Contrary to everyone's opinions, Timothy didn't mind his extra studies. As long as he could preoccupy his mind with something else that would be perfect. 

Timothy returned to his room. The other two students would spend less and less time in that room out of pity for him. But Timothy didn't know that. 

[He was right. He really was right. They all abandoned me.] Some time after Noah's disappearance, Duke Donell came to visit in order to comfort his father. 

As the two were speaking, a familiar fat boy approached him. "Lord Timothy, we haven't seen each other in a while. I rushed here as soon as possible when I found out you were having nightmares." 

Robert Donell Jr., the only friend of his brother's. Timothy would sometimes see the two of them hanging out together. 

Timothy had a good opinion of Robert, so he began slowly warming up to him. Robert would often visit him in his manor, and the two of them would spend a long time reminiscing and talking about various things. 

Robert was even so kind so as to gift him potions every so often that allowed Timothy to sleep peacefully. Soon, he began relying on the potions to make it through the night. It was bliss. 

In his eyes, Robert was now his true friend. The others weren't necessary. Robert warned him, and even though he didn't believe it at first, he did now. 

The others abandoned him. The friends he thought he had stopped caring about him. But he didn't care. He didn't need them. He only needed his best friend Robert. And the potion. Oh, the potion! 

The taste was so sweet, and the dreams he experienced were heavenly! In those dreams, he was a hero who saved his brother from the despicable dark mages and killed them all! Those dreams were also the only place he could see and hear his brother again. 

If only he could experience it all again. If only he had some more potions. But Robert said that he ran out of them, and it will take some time to get a new batch. 

A weird feeling began rising up from within him. It was like thirst, but no matter how much he drank, it wasn't sated. He knew what he needed to sate that thirst.

"Haah, haah..." Panting heavily, Timothy laid on the bed. [If only I had some more, I would do anything...] The torture he received from the nightmares and this strange thirst made him feel like he was going insane. 

He gulped a lot of saliva, grabbed his sword and decided to go outside to train. It would take his mind off things. It had to.


	33. Chapter 33

In the northern part of the Akhulan Kingdom, in a place filled with mountain ranges, a lone youth walked through the intense snowstorm unperturbed. 

Next to him flew a small red demonic face, endlessly looking around for any kind of amusement. "Are we close yet?" Niolo asked.

"We're here." Noah looked amidst the falling snow. In the endless scenery of white, a huge dark fortress was present. 

It looked majestic and imposing as it stood there unmoving regardless of how much the cold, vicious winds beat against it. 

Niolo returned to the spellbook, and Noah arrived in front of the gates. "Halt!" One of the gatekeepers shouted out to him. Normally, a person's voice would be drowned out by the screaming of winds, but the gatekeepers were Ranked Warriors. 

For people like them this much cold was light. His voice was easily heard by Noah. "I'm a traveler. I wish to enter the fortress." Noah gave his documents he got once he entered the kingdom.

One gatekeeper took the documents and went inside the barracks. He returned after a couple of minutes. "Welcome to the Cold Wind Fortress, friend. We hope you have a pleasant stay." 

The gatekeeper's tone was now friendly, and he treated Noah as an equal. "Thank you." Noah politely answered and lightly bowed in respect. 

He wasn't showing his power as an officer rank because he wanted people to underestimate his power. For that reason he registered himself as a Paragon Rank Mage in the documents. 

He looked around with his mana sense. Since it was late at night ordinary people were already sleeping. 

Only the guards on the fortress walls and ranked mages were awake and up and about. Noah saw a group of Ranked Mages and followed towards the entrance to the Black Market. He had a goal on his mind, and that was to become an Alchemist!

Alchemists and artifact refiners. These were the two safest and yet most profitable jobs in the world. Although it does require hard work, the payoff is immense! 

Money, crystals, reputation, influence! Rows upon rows of people who would do anything to get on your good side, even kings themselves! 

He entered the Black Market and began looking for a particular building. He was looking for the Alchemist Guild branch building in the market area. [Here it is.] He looked at the huge building in front of him. 

It was several stories tall and it seemed to radiate wealth. There were no guards, and instead there were various images of beasts carved on the wall. 

Noah quickly recognized that it was a magic array. Whoever attacks this building would definitely die unless they were General Rank.

Glancing towards the interior, Noah saw that the floors were all covered in thick red carpets and the walls were inlaid with various gemstones that glittered brilliantly.

The Alchemists who occasionally entered and exited all had faces filled with pride and arrogance as if they couldn’t wait for people to look up to and venerate them.

A top-rank Alchemist not only possessed incredible wealth but also had a venerable status, this wasn’t just idle talk but an actual fact. 

"Brat, what are you doing, looking around like that? Don't you know what place this is? What are you here for?" A middle aged man angrily approached Noah. 

"Hello." Noah politely and respectfully bowed. "I'm here to to get a token." The token was a proof of an alchemist and had many uses. The best part was that the better token you had, the more of a discount you would get when buying herbs sold by the Alchemist Guild. 

"Oh, you're an Alchemist?" The man examined Noah with his mana sense, and nodded in satisfaction. "Good. But aren't you a bit young? Did you just start practicing Alchemy?" 

"I indeed started a year ago, but I'm confident in my ability sir." Noah smiled and nodded. "Good, follow me." The man waved his hand and Noah followed behind. After learning that Noah was an Alchemist the man began chatting with him in an easy-going manner. 

"Since you want to be certified as a member of the Alchemist Guild, you must first pass our test. After doing so, you can receive a token that corresponds to your rank, but keep in mind that once you become a formal member of the guild, you must not take any action that could be deemed harmful to us. If you dare perform Alchemy for the wrong people, don’t blame the guild for tidying you up.” Noah nodded. "Of course sir. I'll take your advice to heart." 

Seeing how Noah was respectful to him made the man increase his evaluation of the boy. As they were walking, a light medicinal fragrance could be smelt everywhere. Obviously there were Alchemists here practicing Alchemy at this very moment.

Following behind the man, Noah eventually arrived at a relatively remote room. “Wait here, someone will come to see you after a while.” 

Noah nodded slightly and sat down on a nearby chair. This room wasn’t big and there wasn’t much furniture inside, it seemed almost like an empty storage room.

After waiting for two hours or so, Noah was beginning to feel annoyed when he suddenly heard a set of approaching footsteps. 

Soon, the door was pushed open, and a young woman with a somewhat disgruntled look upon her face walked in. Turning to look at Noah, she bluntly asked. “Are you the one who wants to join the Guild?”

Noah nodded, stood up, and asked. “Is it possible to start the test now?” “You say you've been studying Alchemy for a year?” The woman’s brow wrinkled, seemingly a little unhappy as she muttered. Noah nodded. "Yes." 

The woman touched a leather bag on her waist and a plant appeared in her palm. "This is a stalk of Winter Grass. Purify it into a liquid. Quickly now, I don't have time to waste." The woman grumbled. Noah could understand why she was like that. 

When an Alchemist was performing Alchemy, the most taboo thing was to disturb them, so this young woman being in a foul mood was something Noah could understand. 

He also hated wasting time. Noah began collecting mana into his palm and slowly infiltrating it into the Winter Grass. 

Soon, a faint fragrance began filling the air and the young woman finally reigned in the annoyed look on her face, focusing her attention on Noah's hand. 

The Winter Grass appeared as if it was melting and quickly transformed into a liquid suspended above Noah’s palm, all the impurities evaporating under the effect of his mana. As time passed, the Winter Grass was transformed into a liquid with a green hue. 

With Noah's level of skill, purifying a low grade ingredient such as this was too easy. He didn't even need supplementary help. 

The woman looked at Noah in surprise. "Is this good enough?" Noah asked. "You... What grade of potion can you brew?" 

"Middle grade." Noah answered truthfully. "What?" The woman sounded surprised. "But I still fail sometimes." Noah quickly added on. 

"But you only look to be twenty years old... You're not using some magic that makes you look younger, are you?" "I indeed am around twenty years old." 

The woman was speechless. Such a young man and yet he's already able to brew middle grade potions. She herself took forty years to get to that level, and even that was considered great. 

And this young man in front of her only took a year? "Ridiculous! You think I'm a fool?!" The woman was angered at the thought of being an equal to a small brat who just decided to register today. 

"I can demonstrate if you wish." Noah shrugged his shoulders. The woman looked at him deeply. "You, come with me. If you really have such ability, it’s no longer within my ability to assess you.”


	34. Chapter 34

Inside another room, an old woman was staring at an ancient Alchemy book with a serious expression, engrossed in studying an old magic array, a pensive look upon her face. When her door was suddenly knocked, the old woman lifted her head and indifferently called out. “What is it?”

“Master." The young woman softly shouted, “It’s about the young man who wanted to join the guild.” “Oh? Did he pass the test?” The old woman asked.“Well… not exactly…”

“No? Then don’t bother me, go attend to your own alchemy studies.” Hearing this off-handed remark, the young woman suddenly ground her teeth and proceeded to violently kick open the door, leaving Noah somewhat stunned.

Seeing her young female disciple rudely burst into her room, the old woman angrily slammed her fist on the table in front of her. “How improper! Actually ignoring the orders of your master, do you still have any respect for me?” 

"Master, this young man claims that he can brew mid rank potions. I've tested him with the purification of the Winter Grass, and he passed it easily." The young woman exclaimed. 

"Ah?” The old woman was dumbstruck, standing up from his chair quickly. “He can brew mid rank potions when he's only twenty years old? Impossible! Little girl, you dare lie to me!?”

“I’ve brought the person in question here, whether he has such ability, you can verify it yourself.” The woman beckoned to Noah, the latter letting out a sigh that went unnoticed.

The old woman stared at Noah with a dignified expression and asked, “You claim you’re able to brew mid rank potions?” Noah nodded sternly. The look on the old woman’s face became somewhat gloomy. “Boy, you understand that this is the Alchemist Guild? No matter which force you come from, if you dare spout nonsense here you won’t be leaving alive!”

"Please allow me the chance to prove my abilities, your excellency." Noah answered and bowed. The old woman observed him deeply for a moment. "Well, at least you know your manners. Fine, I'll allow you a chance to prove your ability. Natalie, take out your mid grade materials.” The old woman fixed her eyes on Noah as she issued an order to the young woman.

The young woman nodded gently and searched through her spatial bag, a moment later withdrawing a pile of mid grade materials and placing them gently onto a nearby table. The old woman then placed a set of alchemy equipment on the table and motioned to Noah. 

"This is my personal equipment. It took me ten years to collect the materials and two more to find a good craftsman to make it. It's enhanced with magic arrays that increase the chance for brewing potions of a higher rank. Now, if you still fail with this much help, don't think of getting out of here unscathed, boy." 

"Thank you for this chance Your Excellency, I will not waste this grace." Noah responded. "You have four hours. Make any potion you want, the only criteria is that it has to be mid rank." The old woman replied and sat on a chair next to her disciple Natalie. 

Noah started his work. He picked out herbs that he wanted alongside distilled water. He pored the distilled water into a small cauldron and created a fire under it with magic. He chose a set of ingredients and began arranging them in proper order. 

The old woman who was looking at this nodded in approval. What Noah did may look simple, but it shows that he has knowledge of brewing mid rank potions. The way that he was prepping the ingredients showed that he definitely knew what he was doing. 

Noah worked in complete silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the bubbling of water and crackling of the fire under it. He took the ingredients one by one, slowly purifying each of them into liquid. 

Once the impurities were gone the liquid was slowly mixed with the distilled water while the temperature was adjusted appropriately. The color of the liquid changed with every new herb added. Two hours later, what stood on the table was a glistening red potion.

The entire process was seen by the alchemist master-discple pair. Every so often they would nod in approval of the boy in front of them. 

Noah wiped the sweat off his forehead. To not fail he had to go all out, so he was a bit tired. [Alchemy really isn't my strong point.] He thought to himself. He picked up the bottle and respectfully presented it to the old woman. "Have I passed the test?" 

The old woman smiled sincerely. "Indeed, you passed with flying colors." "Then my token..." "Rest assured, you will get it, but before that I have someone I would like to introduce to you. I'll go and bring him over right away." With that the old woman hurriedly left the room. 

Now it was only Noah and the young woman left. "That was impressive. So young and yet such focus. Many alchemists need around a hundred years to learn how to work so calmly." She praised. "Allow me to introduce myself again. I'm Natalie, a mid grade alchemist, and that old ha-woman is my master. Just call her Matilda. You are?" 

"My name is Xander. Nice to meet you." Natalie sat down and began making small talk with Noah. She quickly turned friendly once she recognized him as her equal. "So, where do you come from?" "The south. I travel around and have no real home." 

"I see." Natalie didn't really care, and began asking questions about the potion recipe he used. The topic switched to alchemy and exchanging knowledge. At the same time, the old woman was listening in next to an old man with a snow white beard that reached his waist. 

"What do you think senior, have we found a good talent?" The old man didn't answer and instead asked. "Where have you found this boy?" "We didn't. He came to us." "Mm." Not bothering to answer, the old man simply pushed the door open and walked in.

Upon hearing the movement of the door, Noah quickly glanced over and saw the old woman Matilda from earlier, as well as another sage-like old man enter.

Natalie quickly introduced them to Noah “This is Old Man Solomon, he is the manager of this branch and a Superior Grade alchemist.” Noah bowed courteously. 

Alchemists were graded based on what rank of potions they could brew. Low grade alchemists could brew low rank potions that can only affects paragon ranks, mid grade alchemist potions can affect officers, high grade can affect generals, and superiors could affect magistrates. 

The position this old man in front of him had was crazy high. With a single word the noble family that controls this fortress would immediately do anything he asks just for a single one of his services. [I should definitely strike a good relationship with him. It might prove useful in the future.]


	35. Chapter 35

Solomon smiled and nodded. “Little friend does not need to be so formal, everyone here will be one family from now on. Please sit down,” he gestured.

After taking their seats, from who knows where, Natalie pulled out a few cups of fragrantly scented tea and offered them to everyone. After taking a sip, Solomon smiled warmly and said. “I am already aware of why little friend has visited our Alchemist Guild branch today. Already capable of brewing mid grade potions, you are certainly eligible to have your own token. This old master will later officially send you a token on behalf of the Alchemist Guild.”

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Noah nodded. May this old master ask, which great master did you study under?” As he asked this question, Solomons gaze towards Noah became brilliant. The only way a genius youth like this could learn so much about alchemy in one year is if he has a great teacher behind him. He was intrigued who that great person could be.

Although Solomon was a Superior Grade alchemist and had an honoured status, there were still some famous alchemists who surpassed him, not to mention the old monsters who hid in the mountains and forests all year round. These old monsters may not show up for hundreds of years but once they did, each of them had exceedingly profound methods and divine abilities that were capable of thoroughly astounding people. 

Moreover, these old monsters were normally the type who would aggressively hide shortcomings and would send their disciples out from their places of seclusion at some point in order to gain life experience. These successors would often stir up a great storm within a few years of their appearance and become famous throughout the entire continent. 

That was why Solomon was being courteous. He didn't want to insult a possible rising star and wanted to create a connection with him. The young man in front of him called Noah, in this respect, was quite suspicious.

He was already a Mid Grade alchemist, but there was no record of him in the Alchemist Guild, he didn’t even have his own token. This clearly meant he had only recently emerged from some very remote region.

When he looked at Noah, he could almost see the great monster hiding behind him, so naturally he would discretely try to inquire about Noah’s true identity.

Matilda and Natalie also stared at him fixedly, apparently very interested in this topic. “My master?” Noah smiled and shook his head, “I don’t have a teacher, no one has formally taught me.” [I just killed many alchemists and plundered their knowledge after all.]

"No master… hehe,” The old man smiled lightly and didn’t mind. If he was able to dig up his background that easily, it would be strange. Instead, Noah saying this just reinforced his previous guess that the former had some kind of extraordinary backer.

However, these kind of silver lined words were a bit too naive. Young people really didn’t know how to hide themselves. 

These kinds of mysterious successors would not always openly announce their master’s name when they went out for life experience. However, if one could establish a good relationship with such a person, it would be akin to establishing a connection with their formidable background as well, which would be hugely beneficial.

A hundred years ago, there was once a small force that had befriended such a mysterious successor. Ten years later, this force became enemies with another more powerful force and was badly beaten, suffering heavy casualties, but overnight, that hostile force was completely destroyed and disappeared entirely from the continent. No one knew the true story of what happened.

Solomon was a Superior Grade Alchemist, so no one would seek trouble with him and he had no great personal enemies; he naturally didn’t want to rely on the power of outsiders to protect himself. What he valued was the master who had taught Noah alchemy. Such a person must be amongst the most powerful alchemists in the world.

He had been stuck at this rank for many years and his bottleneck showed no signs of loosening, but if he could get the direction of a powerful master, he might be able to gain some kind of enlightenment that would allow him to break through and become a Legendary Grade alchemist. 

Where is little friend planning to settle down?” Solomon kindly inquired.

“I don’t know, I was planning to stay in Cold Wind Fortress for the time being." Noah shook his head. “I just came out from a very remote place and am not familiar with the world. I’m not afraid to admit to His Excellency that before recently I didn’t even know the names of the great forces in this region and I had not even heard of the Alchemist Guild before today.” 

The alchemist’s old eyes flashed brilliantly as he smiled and nodded, “Good good, there’s nothing for you to feel embarrassed about. As long as little friend is still in this place, you can come to this old master to ask about anything you don’t understand. This old man will certainly answer your doubts.”

Noah thanked the old man, and inside he smiled happily. He knew exactly why this grand figure was treating him so politely. [He fell for it.] This was what Noah was going for in the first place.

Old man, can you let him live here in the Alchemist Guild?” Natalie suddenly proposed. Solomon said with a smile. “That depends on whether he wants to or not.” “I can live here?” Noah pretended to be stunned.

Natalie quickly explained. “As long as you are an alchemist, you can live here. This entire Alchemist Guild branch basically only has the three of us living here. Everyone else has hired themselves to one of the nearby forces and there will only be some alchemists from other regions stopping over here to rest. Therefore, this place is relatively clean and quiet, if you don’t have any particular destination, you might as well just stay here for now, en, if you stay here we can also compare notes on alchemy techniques so all of us can benefit, how about it?”

Natalie obviously hoped that Noah would stay. The brief conversation the two just had already allowed her to benefit, so naturally she wanted to compare notes with him again. 

Then I’ll thank you in advance for your hospitality.” Facing such an offer, Noah agreed immediately. He felt that Solomon and Matilda didn’t have any malicious intentions. It would be good to have some backing like these two. 

“Little friend, you are too formal.” Solomon smiled. “However, I probably won’t be staying here for too long,” Noah added. “Whatever little friend likes, no need to feel constrained.” Solomon said, next pulling out an iron token and handing it over to Noah. “This is the identity token of my Alchemist Guild. With this, you can enjoy special benefits in any shop operated by the guild and if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation, showing this token will normally allow you to turn danger into safety.” 

Many thanks, Old Man Solomon.” Noah accepted the iron token and poured in his mana with a happy expression. Inside this iron token were some mysterious energy markings that allowed a person to easily identify who its owner was and what grade of Alchemist they were.


	36. Chapter 36

After having stayed in the Alchemist Guild for more than half a month, whether it was Old Man Solomon, Matilda, or Natalie, all of them treated him like family, which caused Noah to be a little taken aback.

He also noticed that, Natalie aside, both Solomon and Matilda often treated him a bit too casually, not having the attitude or demeanor a senior should have towards a member of the younger generation, making him feel out of place. Noah was not used to such behavior. Alchemists truly were a strange kind of people, arrogant and prideful to others but friendly to each other. He found this behavior fascinating.

These days, Noah had also been immersed in alchemy, and the materials he had purchased were being rapidly consumed. He completely ran out of mana crystals. 

However, in order to continue improving his skill in alchemy, he had to constantly keep practicing. “Natalie, how do you ensure that you have enough materials to practice alchemy?” Noah pretended not to know and asked her.

“Who asked you to be such a freak?” Natalie rolled her eyes. “You’re rate of alchemy is simply too fast. When my master brewes mid grade potions, she normally spends at least half a day, so at most she can refine two per day.”

[I think that's just because she's old though...] Noah thought to himself. "But I digress; the potions we brew can be sold for crystals which can then be used to buy materials to continue practicing alchemy.” Noah nodded attentively. This was what alchemists always did. It was also the reason why they were so rich, but at the same time poor. 

Most of the potions he had on him now were mid grade and whether it was in terms of quality or grade, they were well aligned with the needs of most mages, so he would certainly have no trouble selling them.

Under Natalie's leadership, Noah came to the shop operated by the Alchemist Guild. The shopkeeper gave him a favourable price and he ended up making a significant profit.

Finally, after completing his goal, Noah said his goodbyes to other alchemists and departed from the Cold Wind Fortress into the nearby mountains. "Did you succeed?" Niolo asked as he flew out, yawning in boredom. 

"Yes. We can now stop worrying about travel expenses in the future." Noah nodded as he climbed up one of the many mountains. "Excellent. Now, how long will it take you to get me a body? I'm pretty bored inside that damn book." 

"Have some patience, you'll get that soon enough." Niolo had previously mentioned this to Noah, and they agreed that it would be beneficial to both of them if Niolo could get himself a body. However, there was a problem with that. 

For Niolo to safely possess a body with no unwanted leakages of demonic presence he would have to take a body that corresponds to his rank. In his case that would have to be a general rank mage's corpse. 

"Alright. Mind telling me what we are here for? Another inheritance?" "I don't actually know." Niolo looked surprised at this answer. But Noah wasn't lying. In his past life, he heard that somewhere around Cold Wind Fortress a lab was discovered. This lab apparently used to belong to some famous figure in the past, but whoever found the lab kept a tight lid on the information. 

There wasn't much information other than that. [The more secret something is, the more valuable it is. If someone went through the trouble to even conceal the identity of the lab's owner, that meant that even the name itself must have been too risky to be publicly known.] 

This fact made Noah excited. Whatever it was, he had a long time to search for it. "Graaaaarrr!!!" A blood curdling scream woke Noah up from his thoughts. He looked in the distance and saw twenty individuals running toward him. 

They were men and women, all of them wearing animal hides as clothes to cover up their muscular bodies. The men had unkept beards that flailed everywhere while women had their hair released to the wind, looking like crazy banshees. One man who ran in front wore a bear hide on his body, the symbol of a leader. 

The weapons in their hands varied from swords, battle axes to spears. Only one of them had a bow. "Pfft, what are those, clowns?" Niolo looked at the people in front disdainfully. They weren't even ranked warriors; just ordinary people. "Northern Barbarians, or at least that's what they are called by the Akhulan Kingdom. These mountains are home to many such tribes. They sometimes attack the cities close to the mountains." 

"Also, don't underestimate them. They have their own general ranks as well." The barbarians now surrounded Noah. Eleven barbarians cut off all of the areas of escape while the remaining nine hurled themselves at him. Swords, spears, axes. Each filled with murderous intent; any normal knight would be scared whitless of such a display.

*DENG* *DENG* *DENG*

The weapons broke upon hitting a thin shield that surrounded Noah. "Uga huh!" The leader called out to his comrades and they quickly tried to pull back. "Katuh! Polu galiou!" He yelled out some more orders, and the eleven others all simultaneously attacked. 

"Chain Explosion." With a low mutter, Noah pointed in the directions of the Barbarians and three simultaneous explosions surrounded him! The barbarians weren't given time to yell; they were all incinerated into ash. 

"Hahaha, what was that? Were they actually trying to kill you?" Niolo laughed, clearly amused. "Who knows. Come on, let's go." 

......

A barbarian group arrived at the burned area. They rode on sleighs pulled by wolf type monsters. Several barbarians got off the sleighs and inspected the ground, before respectfully bowing to a certain figure. It was an old man with a cold look in his eyes. Unlike the others who all had muscly bodies, he looked scrawny and wore necklaces and bracelets made of animal teeth. In his hand he held a wooden staff decorated with feathers of various birds. 

He looked at the charred area and pointed in a certain direction. The barbarians obediently followed his orders and began riding in that direction. The old man said nothing more, but his lips curved upward in a menacing smile.


	37. Chapter 37

Half a month had gone by in a flash. Noah spent day and night searching all over each and every mountain he came across. While he was perfectly calm and thorough, Niolo decided to return to his demonic spellbook voluntarily. Finally, one night, while the full moon shone in the sky, Noah's mana sense failed to penetrate a part of the mountain. 

"There it is. Noah laughed in excitement at his discovery. Quickly running over, he used magic to melt the snow around the area. What was revealed was a black granite boulder situated in front of the entrance, just like he remembered. Without wasting another second, he sat down in front of the boulder and began studying it. 

He was looking for a way to either find or create an entrance through the boulder. The thought of destroying it didn't cross his mind; only a moron would try that thinking that such a stupid method would work. 

Time passed by. In the blink of an eye, Noah had tarried beside the large black granite boulder for 5 days.

In those five days, Noah tried every method he knew on the large black granite boulder. He finally found a few loopholes he could exploit.

Noah already confirmed that the granite boulder had a magic spell formation set up within. But it was in a damaged state. According to the age of the boulder, this formation had already been in effect for over thousands of years.

The cause of this extensive damage was unknown, but he theorized that it could have been done by something exiting from the inside in a violent fashion.

“That's why there are leaks in the spell formation. But what could have escaped from here? A failed experiment?" He wasn't sure, and he certainly didn't care. The only thing that was important was that he found the lab. Glee spread across Noah's face.

Due to his experiments these past few days, he managed to assemble a set of spells that gave him a 70- 80% chance of opening the entrance to this experiment lab. He also discovered that this spell formation had cyclical rotation periods.

The cyclical timing inherent to this spell formation meant that the damaged parts only appeared at certain times. Noah needed to wait for this window of opportunity. 

The sun gradually set and the surrounding area became shrouded in darkness. Noah sought out a level rock and started brewing potions on it. Moonlight fell. Very soon the mountain was enveloped in a layer of silver sheen. The full moon today was exceptionally bright.

The moment he waited for arrived. He rose and sauntered to the side of the large black granite boulder. As moonlight from the full moon shone on the surface of the granite rock, its black stone skin suddenly came off and revealed a network of blood vessels coalescing into a silvery archway. They pulsated continuously as if absorbing the moonlight.

This is it!” Noah’s eyes flashed. He quickly emptied the contents of the potions he just brewed onto the surface of the granite rock.

* Sssii! * A large amount of white mist rose and corroded the surface of the rock, leaving the network of blood vessels in chaos.

"Isk akh, surf de nore..." Noah began chanting softly. In time with the chanting noises, the silvery network of veins settled and continued to combine, then finally turned into a circular passage.

Seeing this, Noah was elated. His chanting voice became more frenzied as he repeatedly tossed the few ingredients in his hands into the passageway. 

*Bang*

Along with Noah’s final chant, the large black granite boulder completed its shape change. Close to Noah, the silvery archway earlier disappeared. Instead, the entrance to a dark tunnel materialized. “A fake passageway actually got conjured!” Noah shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Now all that was left was to enter, but Noah refrained from moving. This wasn't an inheritance ground; it was a place not meant to be found by outsiders. Inside there would be no tests, only dangerous traps. He had to find someone who would do the scouting of the lab for him. And who's the best person for that? 

"Niolo, come out." Noah commanded, and the red demon soul flew out of the spellbook. "What is it? Are you finished?" 

"Go and scout that passage inside for me." "Oh." Niolo listened and flew inside. The passage was extremely short. In moments, Niolo reached the other end.

He saw a small-sized villa appear in front of him. Its walls shimmered with spell light. Green coloured vines crawled and filled the wall. On it were some sort of red-coloured flowers with what looked like bone petals.

On the villa’s entrance was a jagged circular hole the size of a palm. Near the hole, a white skeleton draped in black robes lay on a grey-coloured stone platform! 

According to the way the skeleton was positioned it was definitely an unlucky mage who accidentally stumbled upon this place and perished pitifully. Niolo decided to inspect any belongings the skeleton might have. He crashed into the skeleton, and a heap of items fell from the robes.

A book, several yellow parchment papers, a heap of bottles, and a yellow bronze ring tumbled onto the floor. A ‘K’ symbol was inscribed on it. It seemed to be a kind of identity verification. 

After clearing the dust of the book, a row of esoteric patterns and cursive handwriting emerged. Niolo thought that Noah would probably want it so he took it out.

Noah looked at the book in his hands. “These characters…? They seem to be in Ancient Terrestrial Elven language! I have seen these before in the academy library!”

Noah was stunned. He immediately began to decrypt the words. “Terrestrials… Terrestrial Elves! Alchemist of the Terrestrial Elves, Kadgar!”

“It is actually information pertaining to alchemy!” Noah was in ecstasy. “It was mentioned in the library’s records that the Ancient Terrestrial Elves were renowned for their exquisite alchemy! If I were to obtain this information, maybe becoming a higher rank alchemist is possible!" 

To him, just knowing that within the granite walls was an abandoned experiment lab with an unknown secret made today’s probe an extremely fruitful one. Obtaining advanced information on alchemy was an unexpected bonus.


	38. Chapter 38

"Any traps?" Noah asked. "Three. Nothing you can't handle though." Niolo explained the general situation of the cave. The passageway was safe, and there were three traps in front of the villa. Noah nodded and sent the demon back to the spellbook. 

The black tunnel passage was very short, and the surface was extremely shiny, reflecting Noah's figure. It was even projected at multiple angles on the wall behind him.

He looked at the villa in front of him, noticing the vines Niolo told him about. "Are those Devil vines and Skull flowers? They should sell for a hefty price." Although Noah wasn't lacking crystals now, additional crystals would always come in handy. 

Noah looked at the stone slates on the ground. Just as Niolo said, something was under the slates. Noah took out a black potion out of his spatial ring and took a step forward. In the blink of an eye, the slates on the floor twisted open and revealed a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, snapping viciously at Noah!

Noah smiled and tossed the black potion into the huge mouth.

* Ka-Cha! * 

The huge mouth gobbled up the black potion and dove down under the slates. Following a sound of broken glass, an huge explosion rocked the ground under Noah, cawing in the slates above the mouth. "First trap dismantled, now the rest." Now that he was standing closer to the villa, he could see that there were many small magic formations carved on the walls. This gave Noah an idea.

Noah walked towards the door. A layer of blackish green vine immediately wrapped around the door, and on it, many red petals bloomed. The petals assembled, and actually formed the face of a baby.

“Intruder! This is somewhere that you shouldn’t have come!” The petals formed the opening and closing of the lips as the baby talked.

"The mage in there is already dead, I will inherit his fortune! As for you, I will keep your existence alive, and give you all the nourishment you require for evolving, how does that sound? I will even give you the freedom you so desire.” 

"Freedom!” Hesitation and contemplations streaked across the baby’s face.

“I cannot betray the promise from before! Outsider, please leave!” The baby struggled, but she still rejected Noah’s proposition. A green vine continuously writhed, as if it would strike anytime.

“Sigh….” Noah took out another potion, this time deep green in color, and sighed. “I thought that I wouldn’t have to strike!” “Stubborn intruder, only death will be your ending!”

The baby face howled, this time changing into the face of a male, and many black vines immediately came lashing forward.

* BANG!* 

The black shadow charged forward, and Noah ducked with his body. The thick vines slapped the floor, and the stone pieces flew in the air, revealing a huge pit. “Don’t be so impulsive, what if you damage the experiment lab?”

Intruder! Die!” The male face formed by flower petals roared, and continued the frenzy assault. 

* Bang! Bang! Bang! *

The blackish green vines were continuously brandished and hit many holes in the surrounding walls of the cave. "Oh well. You chose this." Noah threw the green potion right at the male face. What followed the breaking sound was a black cloud that began growing in size. Noah didn't idle and followed up with more of those potions.

The black clouds grew denser, finally shielding what was happening within.

However, there were the occasional sounds of the flower which continuously waned and finally disappeared, only leaving behind decomposing sounds, which would make people cringe.

5 minutes later, the black smoke dissipated, revealing the villa from before again. By this moment, the surface of the villa had been severely corroded, and it looked as if it was going to collapse any moment.

The Devil Vines and Bone flowers had long since disappeared, leaving behind only a few remains which Noah found a pity. Leylin walked forward and knocked on the wooden door.

*Crash!* 

The wooden door immediately crumbled into many pieces and fell to the ground. The magic formations were already destroyed so Noah casually walked inside and released his mana sense.

“There are two storeys in the villa. On the higher floor, it’s the bedroom and bathroom! The first floor would be the guestroom. As for the experiment lab, it is located underground! The entrance is built into the back of a wardrobe!” Under Noah's mana sense the entire villa was clearly visible. 

To the bedroom first!” Noah rapidly ran up the second floor. Gripping the yellow bronze handle, he opened the large door to the bedroom. A layer of dust immediately infiltrated his nose. Noah created a thin shield around himself so as to not get dirty. He then scanned the area. “Everything is all neatly placed.” The bedroom was very small, with only a bed, a table and a chair, and a closet.

Noah opened the closet. “The clothes have all disappeared, it seems that the owner here has prepared to abandon this place!” Although he had thought of this before, Noah was still somewhat disappointed.

He immediately rummaged through the bedroom but found nothing of value. Even the drawers of the table were empty. He left the bedroom and began inspecting the other rooms. "Hm? What's this?" In one of the corners of the guestroom, Noah noticed a small crack in the wall. 

He began inspecting it and slowly breaking apart the wall. What he found was a small black book. "Could it be..." Noah excitedly opened the book. The pages were written in an old language of the continent, far more ancient than the current language. Noah thought that this book definitely predated the Dark Era. 

The language wasn't a problem for him, but the information on the pages was extremely disorderly. Many characters were overlapping with one another and many sentences were blotted by what looked to be spilled ink. Clearly, the owner of the book was not fond of it's contents. 

What Noah managed to decrypt read like this:  
September 1st, clear. Dark Heaven City is a very tranquil city, I hope I can carry out my experiments here peacefully…

December 5th, dark. Oh! Damn it! The experiment has failed yet again, as expected! The difficulty of synthesizing bloodlines has far exceeded my expectations….

What remained was extremely vague, and even the dates could not be deciphered: After reading Boyde’s letter, I conducted a few more experiments. I have to admit, he was right, I was heading in the wrong direction all along, this is indeed some sorrowful news….

The experimental body has failed completely. As for what’s left of the eggs, even if they could hatch, my plan has completely failed. Oh, my heavens….

There is nothing of value here anymore. Maybe I should go to the Hanging Gardens to have a look. Boyde said that his experiments have already achieved a few stages of success, this is a great piece of news for us…

The contents of the book stopped here, it was a continuous record of a researcher’s failure and ended in the abandonment of the lab. Besides a person called Boyde from the Hanging Gardens, Noah gained nothing whatsoever.

However, there were too many Boyde’s throughout history, and as for Hanging Gardens, Noah wasn't sure if he heard of it before. The name could have changed after many years, after all. He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the lack of gains.

“Not right, wait a minute!” Noah’s eyes suddenly flashed, and in the corner of the parchment paper, he discovered a name. The faint writing was extremely vague, hence, Noah almost missed it earlier.

"Ca... Cadeus Veneficus Malum!!!" The book almost fell out of Noah's hands due to shock. "The Great Warlock Cadeus!" Noah remembered every piece of information he had about this character. 

Cadeus Veneficus Malum. The most powerful warlock of all time, he was a leader of the now extinct class of mages, warlocks! They were one of the most prominent dark mages in history that almost ended up conquering the entire continent! 

The so called Warlock Alliance was an extremely powerful force that waged war against thirty five kingdoms of the past. In the end, they were defeated and completely destroyed. That era was known as the Blood Severance Era, and was one of the most chaotic eras in history of the world. However, his legend lived on. Even down to this day, he still remains as a role model of many dark mages. 

"A respected figure like this, his legacy would definitely be of value. A pity that the two storeys were left with nothing and there definitely would not be any legacy or things of the sort!”

Regret streaked across Noah’s face, but he still memorised the contents from the book. “I hope that there will be something to gain from the experiment lab!”

Noah gave the guestroom one last disappointed glance before he puffed out a breath, and burned the book to cinders.


	39. Chapter 39

Coming to the wardrobe on the first floor, originally, the in built wardrobe should have been stuck on the wall. However, due to a small crack, Noah could now see the passage behind it.

This should be something that was done by whatever creature escaped from the lab. Noah shifted away the emptied wardrobe, and the black passage appeared before him.

* Pa! * Noah snapped, and a small fireball illuminated the area, dispelling the darkness and revealing a flight of steps that led downwards. Noah’s eyes flashed fervently as he walked down. The leather shoes and ground made a dull noise from friction.

Compared to the villa above, the underground space was more spacious, and was almost the size of 3 to 4 villas. Criss-crossed walls littered the area, separating the underground lab into a few large areas. Noah continued down the passage, and from time to time, he could see the labelling of the areas.

An ancient handwriting was used. However, he was capable of reading it. As Noah walked, he looked. Data area, garden area, incubator area, potioneering area, herbology area… Each and every special area appeared in front of Noah’s eyes.

After seeing the incubator area, Noah’s eyes flashed, and he walked in. What initially entered Noah’s sight were many circular glass domes, but the glasses had already cracked, revealing many rotten eggs of mysterious organisms.

After checking that there were no living organisms around, Noah put on a pair of gloves, and held a grey egg that resembled a granite stone in his hands. The eggs had a lot of resemblance to various lizard monster eggs of the continent. "It's like they are a mixture of all of them... I believe I'm beginning to understand what The Great Warlock Cadeus was aiming for with these experiments." 

After some searching, Noah discovered a strange incubating pool. On the surface of the glass ball, there was a circular hole that was cracked through, and the remnants of some egg shells and dried up fluids.

“Whatever creature escaped from here should have been bred in this incubating pool…” Noah sized up the area and was unresigned as he continued searching, finally obtaining nothing. He could only pick up a dead egg that looked like a stone and toss it.

Data area, garden area, alchemy area, herbology area…

Noah looked over everything once. The Great Warlock Cadeus would have definitely spent a lot of time and effort on it. The set up in each area was extremely thorough. However, when he left, he brought along everything with him. Noah, who originally wished to get lucky, had now also completely tossed that notion away.

Apart from the few black book in the guestroom, there was nothing that Noah found. “The final area! The dissecting room!” Noah wore a disappointed expression that he found difficult to mask, and walked into the room.

*Clang!*

The steel door boomed open and a concentrated aura of dense negative energy permeated the air. Noah could even hear the faint wails of countless souls. “On the way of a mage who seeks the truth, one can never avoid spilling blood!” Noah muttered the maxim of the Great Warlock Cadeus.

After sizing up the area, Noah noticed that there were some traces of black blood on the white experiment table. Apart from that, he found nothing. Noah felt utter disappointment as he kicked the experiment table.

Towards mages who loved explorations, nothing was more disappointing than devoting countless effort and energy to enter the vestiges of ancient times and returning empty handed.

Although the alchemy diary could already be considered to be extremely beneficial to Noah, compared to the Great Warlock Cadeus, that kind of loot was somehow inadequate.

This was the Great Warlock Cadeus!!! A mage that was at least Magistrate Rank!!! But in his lab, Noah gained nothing at all, which made him extremely vexed.

“Forget it! At least I still have the diary of that unlucky fellow. I did not suffer any loss. Moreover, this experiment could very well be a lab that the Great Warlock Cadeus used when he was a Paragon Rank mage. If not, I would have definitely not been able to enter.” Suddenly, Noah was rather glad.

If he had trespassed into the lab of the Great Warlock Cadeus when he was at his peak and if there had been some curse laid out, Noah certainly would have been unable to resist right now.

* Bang!*

As if kickstarting some kind of chain reaction by kicking the experiment table, a gust of wind blew past the ground, turned into a whirlwind, and coiled the dust up in the air. “Eh?” Noah’s face tightened, and he began preparing a spell to fire. 

The cyclone grew larger and larger, before finally forming into a translucent human figure. “How many years… How many years has it been already! I have finally caught a whiff of a living human!” The translucent figure seemed to gasp and revealed a vague elderly visage.

"Oh." Noah relaxed again, disappointed. [It's just an evil spirit.] Evil spirits were existences that came to be in places with loads of negative energy that existed after many people died with regrets. They were similar to demons in the regard that they could possess human bodies and used soul attacks, attacks which any mage or warrior dreaded the most in the world as defending against them was incredibly hard. 

If this was Noah's past life, he would've tried to escape the moment the evil spirit appeared. But now, with his golden soul that almost killed a General Rank demon soul, he only looked at this newcomer with uninterest. "What is your name?" 

"Name?” The translucent spirit shook its head. “I’ve forgotten that long ago!” He cackled. “Countless years have passed and I have been wandering here always, up to this day! I felt that an interesting fellow had trespassed into my lab, so I came out to have a look at you!”

"Oh so you are the owner of the lab. My apologies for interrupting your slumber." Noah put on a polite front and lightly bowed. The evil spirit’s faint lips curled upwards. “I like little fellows with manners!”

He reached out his translucent hand, and a layer of light appeared in his hands. “You can obtain a great present from this magnificent Mage!” It proudly announced. “Really? Honestly, this is too good!” Noah seemed to be ‘ecstatic’ as he stepped several steps forward. 

The smile on the spirit's face grew larger and larger the more Noah came closer. And when Noah was just a step away. "Hahaha, here's your present!" The spirit's demeanor and smile changed into a bloodthirsty one. 

It struck like a flash at Noah's heart. However, once the spirit touched Noah's body, the light in it's hand disappeared from existence and it's hand began feeling a horrible sensation of being burned. "Kyaaaaaahhh! The spirit screeched in agonizing pain as it's hand evaporated entirely. 

"What the hell did you do?!?!" The spirit's voice began warping, and it's translucent figure was replaced by a purple abomination with seven arms and eyes all over it's body. It looked at Noah with a mixture of intense fear and hatred. "I don't have a reason to tell you. Die now." 

Just as Noah was about to reach out his hand and catch the evil spirit, a red demon soul flew out of the demonic spellbook inside of Noah's robes. "Sniff, sniff... This smell. I'm not wrong! It's an evil spirit!" Niolo looked at the purple abomination in front of it and licked his lips in delight.

"A demon!!!" Contrary to Niolo's reaction, the evil spirit shrieked in terror at the appearance of it's natural predator. "Noah, give this one to me, please." Niolo pursed up it's lips and began sucking in the evil spirit. 

"Nooooooo!!!!" A horrendous shriek was all that was left of the evil spirit. Niolo burped. "Mm, that was a good treat." As if tasting fine vine, he complimented the taste over and over. "Are you done?" Noah asked.

"Yes. Let me know if you find some more in the future, alright?" Niolo returned to the spellbook. "Sure." Noah sighed and decided it was time to leave.


	40. Chapter 40

Right when Noah was about to come out, he noticed new individuals in front of the dark passage. It was a band of Northern Barbarians on sleighs led by an old scrawny man with a magic staff. The old man revealed a smile once their eyes met. "Hello there friend. This old man's name is Targar, might I know what brings you into the mountains?" 

Although he sounded friendly, the old man Targar was releasing pressure befitting an Officer Rank Mage. "Hello. I'm just a travelling alchemist and I accidentally found this place while looking for refuge from the snow." Noah answered. 

"Oh, an alchemist. Friend must be an influential person then. Hoho." Targar lightly laughed. "That's correct. I'm very influential. To come after me with so many people, does his excellency need some alchemy services?" 

"Haha, that's right. If friend would follow me back to my home and perform some alchemy for me, I'll pay you greatly." Noah sighed. Northern Barbarians were popular for treating their captives as slaves. Accepting this old man's offer would be stupid. "I command thee, as an Officer of magic, Tidal Fire." 

A tidal wave of crimson fire shot out from Noah's palm, moving towards the Barbarians, intent on gobbling them up and turning them to ash. "I command thee, as an Officer of magic, Wall of Ice." The old man murmured a short chant, and a fifteen meter wall made of pure ice appeared in front of him. 

The fire wave crashed into the wall, causing cracks to appear all over the ice wall. But the ice wall stood, and the old man was unharmed. "Oh, can I take this as a no?" He looked behind him to see the magical flames devour his Barbarian escorts and their sleighs. They yelled in pain as they desintegrated, not even ash remaining behind. 

"Of course." Noah replied. "I see. Then DIE!!!" The look on the old man's face changed from polite to savage and barbaric in a flash. "I reject." Noah responded emotionlessly and prepped another spell. "Ice giant!" A twenty meter tall giant made of ice materialised. "Go!" 

On the old man's command, the giant threw a punch at Noah. "Crimson Javelin." A ten meter long javelin pierced the ice giant and melted a hole through it's body. Not stopping, the javelin flew straight at the old man. "Tch." The old man clicked his tongue and touched a necklace made out of various teeth of monsters. 

*Oonng!* Once he poured mana inside the necklace, five beast illusions surrounded him and attacked the javelin. With an explosion, the javelin disappeared but the monster illusions faded away significantly, becoming almost transparent. 

Noah used this chance to rid himself of the ice giant, destroying him with a few Fire Fists. "I must say, friend, I really underestimated you. Are you really an alchemist?" The old man grumbled. It was general knowledge that in a fight between an alchemist and a mage, the mage would win nine out of ten times.

It was because alchemists cared only about practicing alchemy, and never bothered learning how to fight. They weren't a match for others of their rank. But this man in front of him was clearly strong. It made The fact that he was an equal with an alchemist of all people made Targar angry. 

He even forced him to use his artifact to defend himself. "But, don't get to happy, friend. I was merely underestimating you. It won't be as easy now." "I understand." Noah replied. "Weaklings like you always make the same excuse, so don't worry." 

"How dare you!" Veins popped out on Targar's forehead as he yelled. "I wanted to spare your life as you might've been useful for the tribe, but now I will make sure to skin you alive! You'll pay the price for insulting me, brat!" 

"Come on then, already, quit wasting my time." Noah already began preparing a new spell. At the same time he was going to grab the demonic spellbook which was currently in his robes. He planned to use Niolo to end this fight quickly. 

Just as two were about to clash again. "Kyyiiieeeerrraaorrggghh!!!!" A horrifying scream that sounded like a mix of a screech and a roar echoed throughout the mountain range, causing an avalanche on the surrounding mountains. 

"W-what the hell?" Targar looked at the source of the horrifying scream, his ears hurting to the point of rupturing. What he saw froze him to the core. 

Below the two mages, on the nearby slope, stood an unholy existence. A ten meter tall monster made out of many pieces of different creatures. It had a snake tail, a body that was a mash up of a scorpion and a lion, bat wings that were in a ruined condition and weakly flopped around, horns of an ox, legs of a centipede, two front and back legs of a frog and a big human head.

The most horrifying part of it's appearance was it's head. The human looking head was bald with horns and human ears filled with wriggling parasitic worms. The face was completely unlike a humans. Eight wailing human faces formed the shape of a flower, and at the center was a circular mouth filled rows upon rows of sharp teeth! 

"What the hell is that?!?!" Targar shouted in fear and disbelief. Never in his life did he ever see something so atrocious. "So that must be the failed experiment that escaped the lab." Unlike Targar, who was currently out of his mind, Noah observed the creature with great interest.

A failed experiment of a world renown figure. It reminded Noah of the legendary man made monsters Warlocks were famous for using, chimeras! "Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, it's a miracle this one's still alive and moving." 

Noah noticed the chimera's clunky and slow movements. It seemed as though the monster would break down at any moment. Nevertheless, the monster radiated pressure befitting an Officer Rank Mage. It was not one to be underestimated. 

"Friend, what do you say we put our differences aside and kill this thing first?" Targar woke up from his shock thanks to Noah. Now clearheaded, he could also tell the creature's power. "You're right friend. Let's call a temporary truce." 

The enmity between the two temporarily solved, they began preparing their spells. "Go!" Targar pointed towards the monster, and the beast illusions fiercely attacked it. "Kkkyyyeeaarrhhhgg!" The monster let out horrifying screams as the beast illusions dealt damage to it's body. Blood and pus began dripping on the snow.

"Crimson Javelin." Noah fired another javelin straight at the monster. "Rrruuurrgghh!" The monster, sensing the danger this attack posed, tried to move aside but because of it's slow movements failed to dodge completely. The javelin pierced it's lower body, creating a hole and destroying one of the frog legs. 

The smell of burnt flesh filled the area. "So it doesn't feel pain." The monster didn't react at all to being hit by his spell just now. It just continued slowly moving towards them. "Icycle Lance!" A lance made of ice shot towards the face of the monster. "Rooooaghh!" 

Once again, the monster didn't react to being hit. It suddenly stopped in place and began pulsating. "What's it doing?" Both mages got a bad feeling and made some distance. After a minute or so, the monster calmed down. Then, the scorpion part of the body opened! 

Clicking sounds began echoing throughout the mountain range. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, as hundreds upon hundreds of monsters began running towards them from the entire mountain range!


	41. Chapter 41

Targar looked at the number of approaching monsters. Usually he wouldn't even bat an eye on these monsters as there weren't ranked monsters among their ranks, but now that he had his hands preoccupied with the monster in front of them he couldn't help but show an ugly expression. 

He couldn't even use his artifact as it was used to suppress the big monster. "Friend, I believe you have some way out of this? At this rate, we'll be the ones at the receiving end." He called out to Noah in hopes of some solution. 

"I'm afraid I don't. Unlike you ,your excellency, I don't even have an artifact." Targar scoffed at Noah's answer. It was obvious that this fellow had no intention of revealing his cards. He could only curse Noah's careful nature in his mind. 

The weak monsters now arrived closer, and the two mages could clearly see worm like parasites hanging on their bodies. "Does it spread those things around passively? Or was it a decision made before?" 

Noah wasn't panicking at all. He already possessed a trump card that could immediately finish off the chimera in front of him: the demon soul Niolo! Because of that he was relaxed, and took his time observing the chimera and memorising every detail. 

There was also another reason. He wanted the artifact that Targar possessed. An artifact that could both be used for attack and defense was rare; there was no way he would waste the chance to get it. 

By now, the controlled monsters surrounded the chimera like living shields, giving no openings to attack clearly. "Humph, foul vermin. Ice Giant! Pulverize them to meatpaste!" Targar created a second ice giant and sent him to clear out the weaker monsters. 

With every fist the giant sent, tens of monsters would die, squashed into bloody pulps on the snow. Gore and blood flew everywhere, and the snow was covered red. And yet, monsters continued coming. 

*CRUNCH!* 

A loud crunching sound echoed out. Noah and Targar looked at the chimera who was the source of the sound. The chimera began eating the surrounding monsters. The circular mouth sucked up the monsters and the razor sharp teeth cut them into tiny pieces of flesh. Surprisingly, the injured part of the chimera began regenerating! In just a few minutes, it's legs grew back, and a hole made by the crimson javelin closed up. It was completely revitalized! 

"It can even heal?!" Targar looked on in dismay. The monster was already tough to damage to begin with, and now it could even heal injured body parts? "This is bad! That means-!" They needed to first kill all of the weaker monsters first. 

But the waves of monsters were never ending. Targar already began thinking of ways to escape. This was not a fight he could win. And this young alchemist next to him refused to reveal his artifacts. [Just what does he have that makes him so calm?] 

"Kkyyyeee!" The chimera, now fully healed, turned it's attention on the ice giant. With a strange noise, it shot clear liquid out of it's mouth. *Sssiiii* Once the liquid landed on the ice giant, the giant quickly began melting! 

"What! A corrosive ability!" [This is bad! How are we supposed to kill this thing in the first place?] Targar took a few steps back. He wasn't in top shape. He already wasted mana on his fight against Noah. 

Right now, his mana orb only had 40% of mana left inside. There was no way he could win against a monster like this with this amount. What's more, he had to be careful of Noah; it's not like they were allies by any means. Noah would definitely try to kill him any chance he got. 

"Kkkyyyeeaarrhhhgg!!!" The chimera screeched and began jumping towards the mages. Because of it's build it wasn't able to jump far, only a little at a time. Nevertheless, it was fast and seemed to never tire. As it was jumping, it began spewing more acid out of it's mouth everywhere. 

"Shit. It's gone completely crazy." Targar made his decision. He was going to escape no matter what. He called back the beast illusions and began retreating whilst observing Noah. 

"Where are you going, friend? We still haven't killed the monster." Noah fired a Crimson Javelin as he called out to Targar. "Bastard! Are you crazy? There's no way we can win!" The javelin disappeared, but the beats illusions became more transparent as a result. 

"Wanna die?!" Targar growled in anger and was just about to attack when he realized something. [This bastard is trying to provoke me! He wants me to waste more mana fighting him so that I won't be able to escape!"] 

Although usually hot headed and prideful, Targar wasn't stupid. He knew that it was now time to escape. His life came first. He ignored Noah's taunt and sped off. "Unexpectedly, he made a wise choice." Noah observed the old man's reaction and nodded.

He then glanced at the rampaging chimera. It wasn't even aiming for the mages anymore as began stomping around and spewing acid while screaming. It was going to break down soon. 

"A bit of shame we must end this." Noah took out the demonic spellbook. "Niolo, come out." The demon soul exited the spellbook and looked at the chimera in front. "What's that? Looks cute." 

"One of the two things I want dead." "Say no more." Niolo understood immediately, and released his pressure on the monsters around them. The weak monsters were squashed into bloody pulps, while the chimera endured for a few minutes.

"Kkkyyeeerrggghhh!!!" With the last horrifying screech, the chimera broke down into pieces, it's body exploding and sending organs and blood everywhere. Not stopping, Niolo flew towards his second target.

"T-this pressure..." Targar's eyes almost popped out of his skull. He believed that a General Rank Mage arrived and turned around. Niolo flew directly into the old man's body. "This! A demon!" Targar began panicking and thrashing around, but it was all useless. 

"Help me!" Intense pain attacked him from all sides, and he could feel his body change. His hands grew longer and thinner, his body swelled up like a balloon and his hair fell out. "Grooo... Rooo!" He tried calling out for help, but only bestial growls came out of his mouth. 

He could also feel his stomach twisting and turning, until suddenly, he felt that his stomach was open! And indeed, a huge gaping mouth opened on his body, filled with sharp teeth! [Help me... Help...]

Niolo stood in front of the newly created creature and looked proud. "Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself." He picked up the necklace made of beast teeth of the ground. "Kill anything that you see. Don't stop until I tell you to." 

The newly created low rank demon obeyed his orders and left in a random direction whilst growling menacingly. "Here's your artifact." Niolo handed over the necklace to Noah. "And the mage?" "Dealt with. I was feeling a bit bored so I turned him into a low rank demon." 

"Good." Noah put the necklace around his neck and returned to Cold Wind Fortress. It was time to plan his next move.


	42. Chapter 42

Noah returned to the Alchemist Guild branch and was welcomed back by Natalie and her master Melinda. After a short reunion he locked himself inside his room and brewed more potions to sell. He also spent his time researching the alchemy book he got from the lab. 

He didn't see Old Man Solomon the entire time he was there. When asked, Natalie explained that Solomon was approached by one of his old friends with a request and that he was currently performing alchemy for them. 

Noah didn't pry further and returned to brewing. Two days later, Solomon returned with a solemn expression on his face. Noah decided to greet him for the sake of politeness. What he didn't expect was that Solomon would look him with a strange light in his eyes.

"Xander, my boy, you said that I should inform you in case I find someone who would like to employ you?" Noah nodded fiercely. "Indeed, Old Man Solomon. Are you telling me you found someone?" Noah only asked this to make some connection with Solomon, so he wasn't really trying to hire himself anywhere. 

Noah really wasn’t familiar with any of the nearby forces so if he were to hire himself to one that had unscrupulous intentions, it would be difficult for him to later withdraw safely. If he wasn’t doing it to be on the old man's good side, Noah would not even have considered such an idea.

"I have been visiting one of my old friends and while we were chatting he mentioned that a friend of his has a son who secretly contacted him to ask for Natalie's services. Apparently, that young man found an inheritance of some ancient mage and is planning to explore it. I have been thinking of sending Natalie but now that you're back... What do you say?" Solomon looked at Noah encouragingly. 

"What family does that young man belong to?" "He is from the Lilytale Family. They aren't from these parts, so you probably didn't hear of them. They are a warrior family from the east and are quite influential." Noah remembered some pieces of information he had on the Lilytale Family. 

They were a Marquis Rank Family specialising in producing powerful warriors. They also owned a couple of cities on the east side of the Akhulan Kingdom. "Alright, I will go. I'll be sure to create a good relationship between us." Noah answered with a smile. "Hohoho, youth. I'll contact my friend now and have him pass on the message. You better prepare yourself. Save up on alchemy ingredients boy." 

Solomon left in a happy mood. Noah listened to his advice and bought a lot of medicinal plants. Two days later, Noah again said his goodbyes to the alchemist trio and left for the east side of the kingdom. Now that he was well of in terms of mana crystals, he easily paid the teleportation ring fee. 

In a few steps, he was on the other side of the kingdom, millions of kilometers away from Cold Wind Fortress. Noah couldn't help but think it was a good thing to become an alchemist. Usually, if a normal person wanted to cross from one city to another on foot they would need to travel at least for months. 

It wasn't surprising for a journey to last ten years. Even ranked mages would need at least a year or so. Not to mention all the dangers the wilderness has, from normal to ranked monsters. This was the reason why ordinary people always live inside a single town or city throughout their entire life, never visiting the outside world. 

Only mages with enough crystals could enjoy this luxury. Noah looked around the city. The city he teleported to now was known as East Moon City, and it was one of the cities that the Lilytale Family controlled. Noah looked around. He was looking for a particular hotel. 

It didn't take long to find. A beautiful building several stories high and decorated with various plants and vines all over. It seemed to radiate an aura of serenity and showcased the beauty of nature. Above the entrance, written in an artistic way, read: "Shelly Hotel". 

Noah remembered some details about this particular family. The Shelly Family is widely considered to be one of the top noble families on the entire continent. They specialize in hotel business, and are in love with fine arts. This particular trait has earned them a nickname "The Shelly Elves", as they're love for art is only surpassed by High Elves.

Noah entered inside and notified the manager of his identity. "So it lord Xander. Young master Jayden is in his room and hopes that you join him for a meal. Please allow me to excort you." Noah was led to a room on the third floor, a place for rich guests. 

In front were two sturdy guards, both Paragon Rank Warriors. They notified their master once Noah arrived and bowed in respect. "It's nice meeting you, friend. I've heard good things about you." What greeted Noah was a table full of food and wine as well as a young man with his hand open for a handshake.

Noah glanced at the youth in front of him. Muscles visible even though his clothes, wine red hair and sea blue eyes. Jayden Lilytale was quite a memorable person. "I'm honored, young master Lilytale." Noah politely and firmly shook the hand offered the him. 

"No need for honorifics. I hope we can quickly become familiar with each other, Noah." Jayden smiled. "I hope so too, Jayden." Seeing Noah so comfortable around him made Jayden smile. "Hehe, it's nice to see someone of my age who isn't bothered by my status. There aren't many people like you." 

Jayden led Noah to the table and the two of them began eating and drinking. The matter of the inheritance was postponed until later. "Now, my friend, let's talk about why I called you here." Noah gave him a serious look as he sat upright. "The truth is, my older brother and I are competing for a position of the heir to the family." 

"Unfortunately, I am a son of a concubine, so the family already sided with him. Our competition is nothing more than a joke now. But, if I'm able to become stronger than my brother, the family would surely choose me over him." 

"And for that you need an inheritance of a powerful Mage." "Yes." Jayden nodded. After understanding the situation briefly, Noah began to relax, slowly reclining in his chair. “So then, I have one question. Where is the inheritance?”

Jayden inhaled a lungful of air and knew that if he did not reveal any information, Noah would naturally not take the bait. “I cannot reveal the location of the inheritance. However, I can tell you the general location. It’s near Poison Mountain Plains.”

"I see. So you need me to make antidotes for the poison." Noah rummaged through his memory. He didn't remember any famous person from the Lilytale Family, certainly not one named Jayden. Not even any clues of an inheritance found in Poison Mountain Plains. [Strange.] He decided not to delve on it too much. 

"So, what mage's inheritance are you searching for? I hope you know what you're doing. We alchemists don't have time to waste on random picnics." "Of course I do." Jayden moved closer to whisper in Noah's ear. "Believe it or not, it's the inheritance of Great Warlock Cadeus." 

Upon speaking the name ‘Great Warlock Cadeus’, Noah’s pupils contracted, yet very soon he recollected himself. This change, which happened which a fraction of a second, went completely unnoticed by Jayden.

[This kid found the inheritance? Could he be a descendant of Great Warlock Cadeus?] Noah was truly shocked, although on the outside he put on a hesitant face. But he couldn't help but think it was suspicious. In the future, the lab shouldn't have been found many years from now. 

Noah only found Great Warlock Cadeus's lab with the help of his previous life knowledge, and yet just a couple of days later, a random noble suddenly found his inheritance??? This was too much of a coincidence. [Did I change the future somehow? But that shouldn't be. The only person I killed was Targar, and he doesn't have connections to the east. So what happened?] 

He couldn't help but think that it was related to him somehow. The thought of the top 9 Hebrion Academy students being weaker than before also flashed before him. He decided not to dwell on the subject too much.

"My friend, did you get swindled by some merchant? You should know who Great Warlock Cadeus is. I think someone made a monkey out of you and are now laughing behind your back." 

"I knew you'd say this." Jayden sighed. "But believe me, it's real. I don't even mind sharing some of the inheritance with you in exchange for your services." Noah already accepted in his mind but didn't want to show it, so he decided to play a sceptic. 

After looking at Noah’s expression, Jayden felt hurried, hence, he continued to elaborate, even adding a few more benefits. Noah put on a struggling expression, finally agreeing to give it some thought over these couple of days.

After seeing Noah act like this, Jayden could only consent. After all, apparently Noah seemed to be somewhat moved towards the end. As expected, on the second day, Noah sought out Jayden, informing him of his decision to participate.


	43. Chapter 43

Early in the morning, Noah and Jayden rode on two black horses each, leaving the Shelly Hotel and the city under the rays of the dawning sun.

......

Five days later, within the Akhulan Kingdom, on the outskirts of a province in the east. On the road, 3 people were waiting.

*Clop Clop Clop! * As the 3 people looked away into the distance, two figures on horseback appeared on the horizon. Those two riders stopped in front of the 3 people, revealing the countenance that belonged to Noah and another unfamiliar person. 

"Noah, let me introduce to you, this is Mister Bosain, from the Wordsworth Family….” The stranger’s voice belonged to Jayden, as he introduced them to Noah. To avoid being recognized by someone from his family, Jayden had masked his appearance. “Also, this is Shaya and Roth!”

Jayden introduced the group to Noah. Bosain had golden bright hair and wore silver robes, appearing dressed very grandly. If not for the look in his eyes, anyone would think that it was some professor who joined Jayden’s group.

However, Jayden specially emphasised on the Mister honorific and the explanation on the Wordsworth Family, giving Noah a small surprise.

“Wordsworth family? You mean the Family of the Prime Minister, that Wordsworth Family?” Noah pretended to be shocked. "Indeed, and I'm his grandson." Bosain added, pride evident on his face.

“Which is to say, he could have direct access to high-grade resources! Or, I can…” Noah outwardly displayed a shocked expression with a tinge of envy, satisfying the ego of Bosain. However deep down, he had some villainous thoughts.

As for Shaya, she was a fire-haired female Mage. As for the last member of the small party, Roth, he was the archetype male of the East. His stature was tall and big, taller than Noah by half a head, his face containing a simple and honest expression. 

Noah noticed that apart from him, everyone else were Paragon Rank Mages. "Hello! I’m Xander, a beginner alchemist, I hope that we can all get along with one another!” Noah introduced himself to the rest.

“The Poison Mountain Plains is perilous, however, I have heard of your reputation being only lower to the Alchemy genius Natalie! I believe that you would ensure our logistics and safety.” Bosain smiled amiably at Noah, giving a feeling of warmth.

“I’ll try my best!” Noah nodded his head. [Natalie was considered a genius? I did not know that.] Alright! It’s getting late, let’s set off!” Noah nodded his head, and the five of them began their journey.

However, deep down, Noah was somewhat disgruntled towards Jayden’s action of adding more members without consulting him. Although they were weak in comparison to him, he certainly did not approve of the current situation. As if noticing something, Jayden engaged in a private conversation to explain to him.

"Bosain and the rest found out about my plans incidentally and insisted on joining. For this reason, he did not hesitate to keep the truth from his own family members!” Jayden smiled wryly. “You know it as well, I am unable to refuse them!”

Noah understood. Bosain was a grandson of a Prime Minister while Jayden is just a bastard son of a Marquis family. The difference between the two was like the sky and the earth. However, Noah still disliked Jayden's carelessness and naivety. 

Concerning this, Noah could only smile wryly and be more wary of his surroundings, with no better idea in mind.

Along the way, the five of them changed their travelling outfits into those of young, noble masters and mistress, continuously travelling along the eastern borders. Along the way, Noah tried to get closer with the other 3 Mages.

Shaya and Roth were rather friendly. The most important factor was that Noah was also a Paragon Rank Mage, moreover, he was acknowledged by them in having talent in Alchemy, so they were somewhat friendly. As for Bosain, he had the behaviour of being an elite amongst mages. 

Refined and courteous, yet arrogant to the skies. He had the deceitful characteristics of the nobility, so he appeared somewhat indifferent towards Noah and the other Mages.

Noah saw that once he spoke of any information regarding the inheritance, he would definitely gain the attention of Bosain.

After many days being together with them, Noah had, more or less, determined their strengths. As for Jayden, Shaya, and Roth—they were Paragon Rank Mages who had recently advanced. Jayden and Shaya carried magic artifacts with them and were stronger than Roth by a small margin. However, Roth was neither obsequious nor supercilious along the way, obviously he had his own hidden trump card.

[Bosain is the strongest here after me. Jayden and Shaya have a fifty-fifty chance of winning without artifacts, and Roth is the weakest without artifacts.] Noah calculated who would be the most likely survivor to face off against him. 

Noah already expected this party of adventurers to kill each other once the inheritance is found. He questioned himself, if Jayden or the rest discovered that it was actually the inheritance of the Great Warlock Cadeus they were after, who would rebel first? They would definitely not be willing to share the loot obtained.

The Estus Mountain Town was a little town located at the foot of the Poison Mountain Plains. This day, on a road that was flying with dust, there were five travel-worn horse riders that appeared.

“Alright, we will enter the Poison Mountain Plains from the Estus Mountain Town. Before that, we can have a lodging at the inn in the town!” Jayden reined in his horse. After getting down, he took out a badly damaged map to have a look.

At this moment, he had a completely different appearance. It was a rather secular face changing spell. “This is the area of the borders. If there were any people from the Lilytale Family here it wouldn’t be odd at all, so we have to be more careful…” 

We know it already!” Bosain straightened his robes, showing impatience. The five of them led their horses to an inn called “Tired Traveler”.

Opening the door, it was as though it was a whole new world. Shouting and clamouring noises, along with the stenches of sweat and the odor of alcohol, wafted over. Jayden’s brow’s furrowed, but he still walked towards the counter, tossing out a silver coin.

“Give me 5 private rooms.” “I’m sorry, we only have 3 rooms left!” Before Jayden finished speaking, a person, who seemed to be the shop owner and who also stank of rum, interrupted him.

“Alright then! Three rooms, we’ll have it all. Also, give us your best delicacies!” Finding lodging at an inn in this small town is already considered fortunate, so Jayden did not pursue further.

But when he was paying the money, he complained. "Isn’t this damned place the one that doesn’t have even a few visitors each year? Now, why is it that there are only 3 rooms left?”

“Hic!” The shop owner hiccuped. “Who knows? The Poison Mountain Plains is filled with the damned poisonous gas and miasma. Many of these lads don’t return after setting off. Usually, there are only people here to drink some rum, but regarding silver coins, I seemed to have met with two waves of important guests today!” 

“Two waves?” Noah stepped forward. “Which is to say, there was someone else before us who came here?”

“Indeed, and they even asked for a tour guide. Silver coin payment, bah! Who wants to die in the depths of Poison Mountain Plains?”

After hearing this news, Noah and the rest looked at each other, having a somewhat ominous premonition. Alright! I’ll let Pinky bring you to your rooms!” The shop owner took down 3 keys that were extremely oily, as he shouted. “Pinky! Pinky! Don’t let me wait another second, if not I’ll scrape your skin off!”

*Bang!* Very soon, a short man which wore a grey pointed hat stood in front of the owner. “Respected Guest, Pinky is here for your bidding…”

This man named Pinky was only half of Noah's height. He also wore a flowery green costume, looking somewhat comical. Bring our esteemed guests to the rooms upstairs to rest, you know which few!”

The owner casually smacked the man, before handing over the keys. “Dear guests! Please follow Pinky! Be careful of the steps!” Pinky touched his hat and led the way at the front. Noah and the rest followed behind.

Shaya took off her cloak, revealing a beautiful face and alluring body, and this attracted the whistles from a few drunken blokes suddenly.

Towards this, Shaya was not irked at all, she even sent a few coquettish glances over, igniting some heat within those drunkards.

Looking at these group of animals that were lusting over her, Noah rolled his eyes. He hated behavior like this the most. Moreover, this expression of Shaya’s showed that she was already angry to a certain extent. 

If these drunkards acted recklessly and stepped forward to provoke, they would definitely suffer a fate worse than death!

“Xander, you and Roth will be in this room, Bosain and me in the other. The last one would be for Shaya, any opinions?” As the organiser for this adventure, Jayden quickly allocated the rooms to the members.

Seeing Jayden assign the difficult Bosain to himself, Leylin and Roth heaved a sigh of relief, naturally not raising any objections. Shaya did not say anything either.

“Also, come to my room in a while’s time. Towards the previous batch of customers the shop owner mentioned, I am somewhat concerned!” Jayden’s brow’s furrowed.

“We are all staying at the same inn. I believe that we will definitely see the other party!” Noah spoke blandly as if hinting at something. According to that man Pinky, the earlier batch of guests was currently not inside the inn. They seemed to have gone out to purchase some goods, even spending money to hire a tour guide.


	44. Chapter 44

Dinner was held at the large hall on the first level. The main dish was mud bean paste, with some wild herbs as seasoning.

However, food like this was, in the eyes of Jayden and the rest, fit only for swines. The few of them had no appetite, yet they were curious about the previous batch of guests, so Noah and the others chose to remain inside the large hall. They sipped on their drinks as they waited.

*Bang!*

Noah was eating his meal, and Shaya had reached her tolerance limits due to the provocation of a few drunkards beside her when the inn’s door opened at this moment. *Huuu!* Large gale of cold wind blew into the inn, lowering the somewhat lively atmosphere.

After seeing these few people who just entered, Jayden’s body tensed. It was five cloaked figures. From the energy waves on their bodies, they were Paragon Rank Mages! When they entered, they too obviously noticed Noah and the others.

The line of sight connected between the two parties, and sparks appeared. However, as if nothing had happened, the five cloaked figures did not stop and continued walking towards the second floor.

“How is it? Can you identify who they might be?” Shaya whispered, unable to conceal the worry on her face. "I don’t know, but they are obviously not here on a holiday!” Jayden’s expression darkened. “I say, if we did not choose this inn for lodging, would we have been able to avoid them?” Roth scratched his head.

“Avoidance?” Bosain smirked in contempt. “It is the thought of weak people. The Wordsworth family would never ever have to avoid anyone!” Being looked down upon by Bosain, Roth tensed. He was suffering from humiliation, yet he did not react. 

"Moreover, this town is so small, and there is only this one inn. When we entered the town, we were already exposed. Any sudden movements will only attract the vigilance of the other party!”

“The crucial thing is, what is their motive for coming here?” Noah asked. “Could it be that they also have found traces of the inheritance in here?” Jayden’s expression changed. “I purchased this lead for a heavy price, buying a book that was scribbled with ancient characters." This got Noah's attention. 

[He found clues to the inheritance in a book? Interesting.] On the outside he pretended not to care, but inside his thoughts were racing. "Which is to say, the other party could have found something too. Who knows if they might even have a professor from some academy who tagged along…” Shaya’s face looked even more uneasy. 

Some academies would allow their professors to temporarily hire themselves to some groups as translators of ancient languages. What troubled Shaya was that these professors were usually not to be messed around with, especially if you had no solid background. “Should we abandon the operation this time?”

“No way!” Jayden was the first who refused. For this lead, he had paid too high a price, naturally he was unwilling for them to give up.

“I don’t think any of us here would be willing to let the professors claim half of the benefits that we obtained here after a dangerous exploration.” Noah added. The hired professors were expensive, so they would only be approached by forces in need as a last resort. A couple of Paragon Rank Mages would definitely not do something so wasteful.

“How about we get rid of them? I took a look, they don't appear to be as strong as us, they could be recently advanced Paragons!” Jayden revealed a brutal expression. 

“We can try, but it has to be done within the Poison Mountain Plains. Moreover, we should eliminate all of the traces. I don't want anyone to find out that we're here!” Bosain added. 

"What if they're just wandering Mages? Maybe we're getting worried for nothing." Roth softly whispered. Noah nodded in confirmation. "It could be. We should avoid making rash decisions." [It can't be that they also came for the inheritance of the Great Warlock Cadeus, can it?] 

......

In the depths of the night, due to Jayden’s suggestions, the five of them abandoned the idea of resting and all gathered inside one room, where they each took turns for the night watch. Also, the other team had the same idea.

“They have left!” warned Noah, who was monitoring the other team’s Mages with his mana sense. Upon hearing his voice, the other 4 Mages, who were all previously snoozing either on the sofa or on the table, suddenly opened their eyes.

“I heard the sound of their footsteps as they left and they were all heading in the direction of the Poison Mountain Plains’ entrance.” continued Noah.

“Choosing the night time to start a war, eh? Let’s catch up with them!” Jayden excitedly spoke. As people who had reached Paragon Rank, Jayden and others had all experienced the letting of the enemy’s blood. As far as this situation was concerned, not only did they all not have a common fear experienced by nobles, instead, they all were looking forward to it for some unknown reason.

Noah and the rest hurriedly left the inn. A total of 10 black shadows disappeared in the town, under the dim glow of the starlight.

*Sou Sou Sou!*

A few black figures that were hard to track using the physical eyes rapidly left the town for the entrance of the Poison Mountain Plains.

“The other party wouldn’t be so naive that they think they could outrun us. The only possibility is that they chose to fight.” Noah’s eyes gleamed, surmising the thoughts of the other party. 

*Crack* A branch that was in the way was broken as Noah and his team dashed through, their speed was not lowering the slightest. 

The pitch-black night, together with the jumbled branches and vines, could not hinder the speed of Noah and his party. “The other team has stopped!” Noah drew to a halt and scrutinized the whole surrounding.

Towering trees with their tops seemingly supporting the sky, the dense foliage and undergrowth completely shielded them from the starlight, and only trickles of starlight were visible through the leaves. But this was just enough for Mages to see.

“This distance is already far from the town. Even if there are any energy waves, no one would discover it at all!” Jayden placed a green badge on his chest.

“You actually took out your magic artifact now, just to deal with a few pieces of trash?” Bosain laughed and retracted his hand into his large sleeves. However, Noah noticed with his mana sense that Bosain was also holding on to a magic artifact. 

This behavior of Bosain, where he contradicted himself by speaking one thing but doing something else, was something Noah was used to. On the other side, Shaya and Roth also made their individual preparations.

A wast majority of Mages were extremely clear on one point—Even a lion has to use its full force to catch a rabbit! No matter how weak the opponent seems, one must not slack off. If not, the loss of one’s own life might happen!

“Let’s go and get rid of them!” Jayden laughed sardonically and stepped out first. “Mm.” After going past a black leafy tree, Noah saw a dark green marsh. 

The surface of the swamp had many dried branches and leaves, interspersed with the corpses of other animals.

On the other side of the swamp, the 5 Mages that they saw previously were standing there quietly.

What was different about their outfits were that on the cloak and robes, they wore no insignia. They really were wandering Mages, or at least they showed themselves as such. 

The two parties stood quietly and faced off the other. For a moment, even the air seemed to have congealed. “May I know for what reason are these friends following us?" The other team’s leader remained silent for a while, then opened his mouth.

* Chi Chi *

The moment that leader opened his mouth, a murderous glint flashed in Jayden’s eyes and the badge on his chest radiated a ray of green light. Countless murky green vines with reversed barbs rose from the ground, encircling the five opponents! 

"Despicable!” “Bunch of bastards!” “Aargh!”

The five Mages obviously did not think that Jayden would be this decisive and ruthless, not even mouthing a greeting before he took action. One of the Mages began chanting. "As a Paragon of magic, I command thee, Wind Steps!" 

Within a fraction of a second, a green whirlwind swirled around two Mages, increasing their speed and bringing them off the attack area of the vines. 

"As a Paragon of magic, I command thee, Fire Fist!" As for another Mage, there was an orange-red fist of flame that shot at the approaching vines. The vines that were hit burned black and retreated.

As for the last two Mages, they seemed rather miserable. Countless vines wrapped them into a ball. Along with the tightening of the vines, fresh blood seeped through from within the ball. They didn't even finish properly chanting.

"Kill them all!” The moment Jayden struck, Bosain, Noah, and the others rushed forward too.

“Right now, I can confirm that this bunch of Mages indeed just promoted, with no experience of battles between Ranked Mages. They are as weak as sheep in the face of a strong adversary!” Bosain yelled out.

Noah looked at the few Mages with an emotionless look. However, he loved inexperienced opponents like this the most. Because one can reap the largest benefits without spending much effort.

As Noah dashed forward, he chanted an incantation. "Fire Whip!" A whip of orange flame appeared in Noah's hand, and he swung it down on the Mage. "Water Wall!" A 5 meter tall wall of water managed to block the fire whip, the collision resulting in steam and the weakening of the water wall.

Noah used this chance to bypass the wall of water and throw a green colored potion at the Mage. *Sssii!* The liquid that was extremely corrosive dissolved part of the opponent’s leg and the flesh and blood continuously fell down. “Aaargh… someone save me!”

The enemy Mage fell onto the ground, his wails pierced past the quiet forest, directly to the heavens.

“Kiddo! Your mother will save you!” Shaya mocked him. She waved her arm and a few silver lights flew from her hand, directly piercing the head of the fallen Mage. 

*Bang!* The Mage’s head sliced open like a watermelon as the brain and various juices sprayed on the floor. 3 people died directly from the first wave of attack from Noah’s party.

“Damn it! Monty!” The two remaining Mages gritted their teeth and retreated. One of them withdrew a silver whistle from his robes and blew on it. *Fffiiiiiiiii!* 

The piercing noise from the whistle sounded. From afar a growl from a beast was heard. It was oppressive, bloodthirsty and seemed to come from midair. Noah remembered the only monster that made such a sound. [No wonder they chose the swamp as a place for battle. But still, to have a contracted beast, these Mages aren't some wandering blokes.]

He immediately shouted. “Be careful! They have a contracted beast. It’s the Moon Fly, hurry and leave the marsh!”

*Groar!* The growl sounded and a massive black figure pressed down from the top of the trees, hovering in the midair above the marsh.

It was a giant creature with purple and black light emitting from the body. Also, it was the size of a horse, and two wings like that of a bat’s grew from its sides. At the end of the wings, there were barbed talons. The mouth was extremely pointed and was filled with razor-sharp, white teeth. A pair of bright, yellow eyes seemed to burn like flames in the middle of the night. 

*Shiikkk!* As Noah warned them, an unpleasant roar came from the Moon Fly floating in midair. With the roar, the surface of the marsh which was originally serene suddenly surged with ripples.

The ripples grew larger, finally turning into a 12-metre tall wave, directly falling right upon Noah and the rest. Many impurities were contained within the murky waters, and it brought along branches and corpses of wild beasts.

"Well done, my precious!” The Mage, who blew loudly on the whistle, shouted. “Kill them for me!”

“Damn it! Even a little worm wants to kill us!”

Noah and the others rushed out of the marsh area. As the might of the Moon Fly could only be displayed inside the marsh, the attack stopped pursuing. However, Bosain remained behind. At this moment, facing this huge wave, his expression was as if he just suffered a humiliation.

*Bang!* A large wave surged and attacked Bosain. However, on the surface of his body, a large silver metal shield automatically appeared in front of him.

The shield was a dozen centimetres thick. On the surface of the shield, there were mysterious and complicated runes and it looked to be extremely sturdy. The Moon Fly's attack crashed on the shield, creating a loud bang.


	45. Chapter 45

*Bang!* Under the crashing of the wave, the silver shield seemed to be a reef in the middle of the ocean, not moving the slightest.

After the Moon Fly's attck was over, Bosain was still unscathed behind the shield. Seeing this, the others’ pupils shrank. “A defense type magic artifact!”

Jayden and the others clearly understood the difficulty of dealing with it. Once a defense type magic artifact was activated, Bosain was invincible amongst Mages of his rank for as long as the artifact works.

As for the two opposing Mages, they were obviously scared stiff by Bosain’s actions. There was actually a moment when they stood still.

Especially the Mage who signed a contract with the Moon Fly, he gripped the whistle tightly, disbelief written all over his pallid face.

After the attack, the giant Moon Fly seemed to have been spent. It continued to hover in midair, yet did not attack again.

[The number of times a contracted beast can attack depends on the mana of the user. This makes them quite useless unless the Mage is prepared to go all out. This Mage is not one of those people.]

“A good chance!” Noah's eyes flashed, and two potions, red and purple coloured, flew from his hands. *Crack!* A red flame with purple smoke exploded on the body of the Moonl Fly.

The huge explosion engulfed the Moon Fly. From the purple-red halo of the spell, the shrieks of the Moon Fly could be heard.

After the potion’s effect had worn off, the Moon Fly in midair was in a miserable state. Both its claws were broken, with many holes on its wings. It seemed not to be able to float in the air any longer, covering the distance between itself and the ground rapidly, as if wanting to rest.

You damned bastard! You actually dare…” Looking at the Moon Fly approaching the ground, Bosain roared. The silver shield in front of him then emitted a white light.

The thick shield melted in the light, and silver liquid swirled around Bosain’s hands, turning into a silver greatsword. “Hah!” Bosain raised the greatsword with both hands and jumped up before slashing down!

*Slash!* A silver flash of light chopped at the neck of the Moon Fly who was struggling, and a stream of blood appeared in its place. The head of the Moon Fly was chopped off, spraying a large amount of black and purple ichor.

One slash to severe the head! The massive Moon Fly was actually decapitated with just one slash of Bosain’s sword. "Ah, no!” The moment the Moon Fly was decapitated, the Mage let out a shrill cry.

Moreover, the moment the eyes of the severed Moon Fly’s head dimmed, the Mage’s face turned white, and wrinkles started to appear all over his face.

After the fire in the yellow eyes of the Moon Fly disappeared, the Mage panted. At this moment, he was already a white-haired old man and then he fell to the ground, losing all signs of life.

[It seems like it was a life-bound contract he signed. No wonder, despite his average strength, he obtained the loyalty of the Moon Fly.] This was the biggest reason why Noah never made a contract with a monster. The contract depends on the strength of the Mage, so if the Mage is too weak to control the monster, he must put forth something else, in many cases his life. 

The monster's life was then entwined with your own. If you die, the monster dies; likewise if the monster dies, you die as well. Noah saw this as too risky for himself.

"Ahhh!” The final remaining Mage shouted, immediately turned around and ran. "There is also this one!” The thicket parted and Roth’s figure appeared in front of the party. Only now his appearance had taken a drastic change.

His right arm was blasted off, revealing many white tentacles. Half of his face was also strewn with green scales. As for the tentacles on his right arm, it was holding onto the head of the last Mage who escaped. The head wore a frightened expression! 

"A mutation!" "Roth, you..." Jayden and Shaya have Roth a surprised look. Noah also pretended to be shocked. [A monster fusion ritual. It makes sense why he is the weakest among us.]

Not all discoveries from the past Eras were useful. One of these was the Monster Fusion Ritual, a ritual in which a person fuses with a Ranked monster in hopes of promoting to Paragon Rank. The goal of the ritual was to mass produce Paragon Rank Mages and higher for war. 

However, the ritual was a complete failure. 90% of subjects failed to fuse with the monster and died, while 9% of the survivors would go berserk, making them useless. The last 1% of survivors would retain their sanity, but would only be able to display the strength of a half-step Paragon Rank. In the end, the use of the ritual was cancelled as it was too wasteful.

Noah secretly congratulated Roth. After all, Roth's existence itself was a miracle. *Sou Sou!* White tentacles continuously retracted back into his body. Very soon, Roth took on a half-naked appearance, returning back to his regular form.

Roth swung his right arm, tossing the Mage’s head onto the floor and smiled widely. “Now, the inconveniences have all been disposed of!” 

"Alright! Even though we annihilated the opponents, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, we had better hasten the exploration and leave this place.” Bosain suggested as he placed the magic artifact back in his robes.

“Indeed! The other party could have revealed their location to someone else. We have to hurry and look for the inheritance in the Poison Mountain Plains!” Noah also agreed.

"Alright, let us set off immediately!” Jayden nodded his head and was about to lead the party away.

“Wait a minute, I even found this on his body!” Roth smiled and handed over a pale yellow scroll over to Jayden. “This is…” Jayden opened it and his expression looked extremely unpleasant as if it belonged on a corpse.

From the geographical drawing, the map depicted the Poison Mountain Plains. Moreover, among the signs of the dark forest, there was a thin red line which extended from the Estus Mountain Town entrance to the depths of the mountain. It stopped at another marking which showed a cliff. Moreover, at the bottom of the cliff, there was the name ‘Hanging Gardens”

“Did the purpose of the other party coincide with our exploration?” Noah asked suddenly. "Indeed!” Jayden nodded vigorously, suddenly turning impatient. “Damn it, I don’t know how many leads this inheritance owner created. Let’s hurry, I don’t wish to see an inheritance that has already been scoured clean!” 

What no one else knew was that right now Noah was continuously cursing in his mind. [And now some random Mages have a map to the Hanging Gardens? What, do clues to Magistrate Rank Mage inheritances grow on trees or something? What stupid joke is this!] 

Apart from being annoyed, Noah was also anxious. None of this was supposed to happen. The Church of Light erased any and all traces of Warlocks on the continent, so he should be the only person in the world aware of the lab and the inheritance existing! And yet, there are already 9 other individuals who have clues of the inheritance. 

Noah was beginning to worry about the future. He still had a couple of artifacts he wanted to grab for himself. What if those artifacts have already been found? [I need to hurry and finish this journey quickly. There is no time to waste.] 

As there was a possibility that someone else might be there before them, the five of them proceeded with their journey, their hearts heavy and their complexions reflected their uneasiness.

However, they moved quickly, and in a few hours’ time, they had already entered the depths of the Poison Mountain Plains. At this moment, the mountain was extremely different from when they had first stepped into it.

The change in the vegetation here was to an extreme. If the Poison Mountain Plains border had normal plants growing, right now, what they saw in front of them were some relatively bizarre species of plants.

The most common plants were a species of big shrubs that were white in colour and their leaves had a strange spiral form.

Every time a gust of wind blew, the sea of shrubs would move with the wind, producing a sound similar to playing the piano keys.

*Cling Cling Clong Clong!* The piano-like sounds was extremely chaotic. Everyone became aroused, feeling a need to recklessly charge forth!

“Careful! This is the Piano Key Bush. The noise it makes can attract regular humans. Even an Mage would be somewhat affected!”

Noah warned. “Earlier, the missing people from the Estus Mountain Town could very well have been attracted to these sounds, entering an illusion and dying in heat.” He secretly smiled when he realized that the noise had no effect on him. His golden soul was truly a treasure.

After which, Noah withdrew a few potions from his Spatial Ring and distributed it to Jayden and the rest. “This is a tranquilizing potion that I have brewed, it can resist such effects!”

Jayden, Roth, and Shaya looked at the test-tube in their hands and drank its contents after tasting a little of it. As for Bosain, he shook his head to refuse, directly returning the potion to Noah. “I don’t need it!”

Noah shrugged his shoulders and led the way at the front. On the later parts of the exploration, there were traps with poisonous gases and ambushes. This was the reason an alchemist was needed — to counteract them. 

This was also the reason why Jayden asked Noah to come.


	46. Chapter 46

After which, Noah and the rest met several waves of miasma and hordes of poisonous insects. Under the aid of the potions Noah provided, the party got through these danger zones with ease.

After Noah displayed a few methods of using the potions to dispel the poisonous insects and miasma, Jayden and the rest were convinced of Noah’s talent.

Even Bosain would occasionally cast surprised glances at Noah. Obviously, he had heard of Noah’s talent in Alchemy from Jayden, but Noah’s talent had exceeded his expectations.

The party trekked over land and water, finally arriving at the overhanging cliff depicted on the map two days later. “So beautiful!” Shaya gasped. Even Noah and the others showed signs of indulgence.

On the edge of the cliff, there were bright yellow flowers growing on the levelled ground. In the heart of the flower, it was bright red. When it bloomed it had the size of two regular humans’ fists put together.

The whole mountaintop was filled with this strange flower, and a heavy aroma permeated the area. “Noah, what is it?” Jayden asked. 

The Poison Mountain Plains was riddled with dangers, and various strange plants had appeared. More often than not, the more beautiful a plant was the more dangerous it was. Especially when it was close to their destination!

As an Alchemist, Noah already dealt with 3 similar flowers traps. “No problem!” Noah picked up a stalk of the flower and began inspecting it.

"Beta Daisy.” Noah’s brow’s furrowed. “This is a common plant in the south coast. Normally they are grown on plains. It represents nostalgia and respect.”

“This flower does indeed seem like the Beta Daisy. There should be someone who planted this here on purpose!” Bosain also gave a definite reply.

“Is it the magician who left behind the inheritance?” Roth who stood behind spoke, his voice gruff. It’s possible, but I can’t confirm it!”

Jayden opened the damaged map, “From the map, the remnants should be located at the bottom of this cliff!”

Noah nodded his head, back when he inspected the map, the name ‘Hanging Gardens’ appeared beneath the cliff. Moreover, there was mentioned a huge area of Beta Daisy located on the cliff above it, so there was an 80-90 percent chance that it was correct.

“What are we waiting for?” The excitement was seen on Shaya’s face. To Mages like them, if they were able to find remnants of a high Rank Mage and obtain the inheritance, it was often the start of another powerhouse.

The four of them began to pant raggedly, even Bosain was not excluded. The cliff was extremely high, and there were granite rocks on the razor sharp steep walls. For a regular human, climbing to the bottom was an impossible task.

However, for these five determined Mages, this itsy-bitsy challenge could not stop them at all. Roth immediately transformed into the tentacle handed creature and climbed. Jayden used his artifact to create plant stairs for Noah and himself. Shaya decided to accompany them as it was convinient for her. 

Bosain activated his artifact and a pair of silver wings appeared on his back, allowing him a smooth glide downwards. "A shape changing artifact!" Shaya was stunned. "As expected of a grandson of the Prime Minister." Jayden smiled bitterly. Noah only observed Bosain's artifact with an interested gaze. He was contemplating whether he should take it or not.

*Bang!*

“This is… ” Roth was rather taken aback as he sized up the surroundings. It was littered with stones in the form of double edged blades. The countless stone swords were placed together, covering at least half of the bottom area of the cliff.

On the sharp blades, there were countless corpses. Roth even discovered some corpses which looked like humans.

“It seems that these were living creatures which fell from the cliff!” Noah sighed and suddenly realised that something was amiss. [How could there be regular humans here. Could it be some people who had obtained leads previously?] 

"Be careful, the floor is littered with blades!” Upon seeing Jayden and the others landing, Roth hurriedly warned.

“Damn it!” Jayden’s face darkened. His arm had grazed over one of the sharp blades when leading, revealing an abrasion that was at least 12cm long.

“These pointed edges have been made razor-sharp to last for eternity. In addition, there also some magic spells imbued in them! If this were not so, it would not have been possible to breakthrough my defense and cause a scratch on my skin!” 

"Indeed!” Noah touched the grey-white blade and felt the faint energy waves pulsing from it. [Only a Magistrate could Mage could perform the spell on such a scale, adding the effect on all these rocks in this area!]

“So then, where is the inheritance?” *Sou Sou!* Countless grey-white tentacles extended to the bottom of the cliff, bringing Roth with it.

"Let us search the area and see if there are any clues. 6 hours later, we’ll gather at the top of the cliff again!” Impatience surfaced on Jayden’s face as he spoke. This exploration was suggested by him, so the worst disappointment is ending with no results.

Moreover, with some clues but not being able to discover the entrance still, this impatience, together with the fear of the possible empty inheritance clouded his mind constantly. From what Noah saw, Jayden has not been not that mentally stable for a couple of days now. He must've really felt inferior to his older brother.

"Freedom to seek?” After hearing Jayden’s suggestion, the other 4 quietened down and nodded their heads in agreement.

To them, after arriving at the destination, Jayden was of little use to them. Moreover, being able to find the inheritance and obtain the loot before the other party members were definitely much better than discovering it together. More benefits could be obtained that way.

The five of them had confidence in their own methods. Hence, no one suggested forming a team of sorts. The few of them chose to walk downwards and left the area where they landed on.

Noah, the only one with mana sense in the party, released it outside and began checking the inside of the mountain. According to his mana sense, under the cliff, there were layers of granite. There were no signs of Mage activities.

Moreover, in the surroundings, there weren’t any situation of experiment labs that was detected. “There isn’t any.” Noah was calm. He knew this would happen. Magistrate Rank Mages are one of the pinnacle Mages in the continent, it was natural that they would thoroughly hide their inheritance. He decided to use the time to remember the surrounding terrain instead.

6 hours later, the sky gradually turned dark. There were a few tents pitched on the top of the cliff. In front of the tent, there was a bonfire, where a wild vegetable soup aroma rose from the boiling pot.

It was rather unfortunate, however, that the five surrounding the bonfire did not have any appetite. “Everyone has returned, speak of your findings!” Jayden looked at the circle and spoke first. 

"There isn’t any! Apart from those darned inverted rock blades, there isn’t anything else!” Roth then spoke. “I say, could it be that you are leading us on the wrong path?”

“What did you say?” Jayden stood up abruptly, the badge pinned on his chest emitting a green glow. This caught Roth off guard, he didn't expect Jayden to react so fiercely.

“Alright! Do we want to cause internal strife even before finding the treasure?” Bosain emitted his pressure and stood directly between Jayden and Roth. 

"I believe Jayden, if not he could have come here on his own!” Noah added. Why he said that was because he knew Jayden's character. He knew that Jayden had been leading them right to the destination. He was just that type of person.

After hearing Noah and Bosain mediating, Jayden and Roth glared at each other and sat back down. "I have even searched the bottom level and it was all solid ground. There isn’t any underground construction or anything of that sort!” Shaya smiled wryly.

“An ancient Mage's inheritance could not be found that easily in the first place. If not it would have long since been looted!” Noah added and immediately asked Jayden. “Do you have any other clues?” After hearing Noah’s words, the other 3 diverted their glances at Jayden.

Jayden kept his silence for a while before speaking, “The clue that I obtained was a book to come here. In the book, there were several ancient verses, it seemed to be a poem of sorts…”

“Let me see it!” Noah and Bosain spoke together in unison. “I’ll show it to all of you then!” Jayden smiled and opened the book he took out of his Spatial Ring.

Noah scrutinised the book on Jayden. There was no difference with the map they found on those Mages, none at all, even the route was the same, leading to this cliff. However, Jayden’s book was much older. On the upper right corner, there were several blurry characters. The words were writhing like a snake.

“This is Curagerian language, I have seen it before on a manual. It originated from the infamous Blood Severance Era. It seemed to speak of "carry…and people with respect, will be able to…garden…" Bosain's eyes flashed as he tried his best to translate it.

“Only those who carry courage and respect will be able to see the Hanging Gardens!” Noah translated the Curagerian language immediately. “There is only this one line in the book!” The entire book was empty, having only the map stretched across two pages with the sentence written on the side.

Bosain was clearly startled, “Such an obscure knowledge…you actually…” “My favorite pastime is hanging around in the library!” Noah replied.

“The remnant’s name seemed to be Hanging Gardens. However, for goddess's sake, what does it mean?” Shaya scratched her head in puzzlement.

“I always thought courage referred to the courage to trespass through the Poison Mountain Plains. It doesn’t seem to be the case now!” Jayden smiled wryly.

“The Poison Mountain Plains is dangerous to regular humans. However to a Paragon Rank, it doesn’t pose much danger at all…” Bosain looked at Noah impassively, before speaking.


	47. Chapter 47

The group discussed till late into the night, but no conclusions were arrived at.

After which, they assigned the sentry for the night watch, and the individuals returned to the tent to rest and recover their mana. Noah lay on a simple bed laid with the fur of a white wolf, thoughts racing in his mind.

He was thinking about the possibility of the future changing and going down a different path than before. If that happened, he would lose many of the benefits he wanted to grab for himself. The thought of losing those benefits vexed him to no end. Even the training that he did daily had to be postponed.

“Maybe I should begin preparing contingency plans. The continent is extremely vast. Every dozens of years there would be some new inheritances found. There are many chances…”

Noah comforted himself, and then laughed in spite of himself. Originally, he had considered the Great Warlock Cadeus's inheritance as something only he knew about and could thus only he find; but after two groups of people finding the clues around the same time as himself, that opinion was shattered.

“How irritable, I ignored the possibility of someone else knowing about it!” Noah’s expression suddenly turned tranquil. "A man learns while he is alive; I will not make the mistake of overestimating my knowledge again!" 

Just because Noah came from the future didn't mean he knew every detail behind everything. On the contrary, he knew very little. Who's to say that this wasn't all a part of someone's plan? Someone could have released the clues about the inheritance on purpose; perhaps the inheritance has an age limit? Or does it have a Rank limit? 

For all he knew, Noah could be dancing on the palm of someone's hand this entire time. This realization actually calmed him down. This possibility meant one thing; whatever was inside had to be incredibly precious. [And if I get it for myself...]

With his mind now calm, Noah delved into deep sleep. 

......

Early morning, a skylark's sharp cry echoed above their camp. Noah greeted Shaya. “Morning!”

“Morning!” said Shaya, two dark circles around her eyes. It appeared as if she hadn’t slept a wink last night. A few blood vessels were distinctly visible within her eyes. The gaze that she returned Noah was inconceivable.

“I wonder…how is it that you can be so…relaxed?” After enduring for some time, Shaya at last enquired. This is an ancient Mage's inheritance that we are talking about—there is a chance to even get some information and resources which would help us advance…”

“But we still haven’t found it, isn’t that right?” Noah, facing the rising the sun, stretched his muscles satisfactorily. “As long as something is not yours, you must not obsess over it too much. Otherwise, your heart will only suffer.”

You are very odd indeed!” Shaya rubbed her hand across her forehead. “That may be so.” Noah nodded. He was called many things in his past life, odd being put mildly. 

The 5 people walked away from the tents and gathered to eat their breakfast—which was a roasted fowl. After that, they all gathered together to discuss on how to proceed.

“Alright! Today will again be another day of solo explorations! Try your best to find the remnants!” said Jayden. After seeing that the discussion went on for ages with no result, he had no other option but to say this. This was also the most appropriate action for the current situation.

Although it is possible that anyone could find the entrance first, as long as it is opened, Jayden and the rest would also be able to find that open entrance from its energy waves. At the very most, they would just give the people who discovered the entrance a larger portion of the reward.

“What are you doing?” After everyone had scattered in different directions, Jayden, upon seeing that Noah still stood at the top of the cliff and was bowing to appreciate the Beta Daisy, he couldn’t help but ask. 

“It is as you see. I am appreciating the flowers.” Said Noah, with a hint of a smile on his mouth. “At such a moment?” Jayden’s eyes turned red; he made as if to go and reprimand Noah.

“Be calm! You must not get irritated!” Noah made a gesture to make him halt. “I spent the yesterday thinking. We all looked for clues at the cliff’s bottom, but we haven’t discovered this secret hidden among the ocean of flowers!”

“Secret? You mean, you found it?” Jayden appeared ecstatic. What? Xander found it?” *Sou! Sou! Sou!* 3 shadows appeared directly next to Jayden and Noah.

It was the other 3 Mages who had not strayed too far. “Mm!” In front of his party’s eyes, Noah slowly nodded his head. “One of you who can use any floating artifact, fly up to midair and have a look!” Noah spoke.

"Leave it to me!” Bosain immediately withdrew a silver metal ball. On the metal ball, there were the energy waves of a magic artifact.

After that, Bosain twirled the metal ball, which then melted to become a liquid. This liquid stuck to his back and formed two huge, pretty and dazzling silver wings.

*Whoosh* A huge translucent silver wing flapped, bringing the dust off the ground. With this strength, Bosain immediately flew into midair.

“How is it? Do you see anything?” Jayden shouted below. “Flowers…The arrangement of the Beta Daisy….”

A gust of wind flew past and Bosain flew down onto the ground, retracting his wings back in his body. “This patch of Beta Daisy was planted on purpose. They have formed a character!”

Bosain explained to the rest. “What character?” Shaya and Roth asked. “It is a Curagerian letter, and the meaning means ‘jump’!” Bosain said.

“Jump? Could it be that we have to jump directly off the cliff?” Jayden guessed. “Haven’t we already jumped once yesterday?”

Roth scratched his head, “Nothing was discovered, only those damned rocks below the cliff!”

“No! You climbed down. As for us, I used my artifact to glide and they used Jayden's artifact to walk down!” Bosain interrupted. “I understand now, the remnant is located in a secret plane. As for the way to enter, it is to jump directly down from the cliff without using any spells!” Noah nodded in approval. [Indeed, the Great Warlock Cadeus could have created a secret plane to house his inheritance by using his power.]

It was once said that the Great Warlock Cadeus possessed a bloodline of a monster with the space element! As most of the records were destroyed, it was never revealed what kind of monster it was, so it was taken as nothing more but one of the many legends regarding him. [Is it true after all?] Noah asked himself.

"Jump down directly? Are you crazy?” Shaya twisted her beautiful red hair. “Such a tall cliff with so many rock blades at the bottom. If we don’t use any magic spells for defence, with our physical bodies, even Roth would fall to his death!”

“So, we need some experiment specimen!” Jayden said. “Go find some animals, better yet some humans!”

“That’s possible! But don’t harbour too much hope!” Roth pulled out a bunch of tentacles from his Spatial Ring and hurriedly left. 

"We should also search in the surroundings, if we still can’t find any, then let’s return to the town!” Jayden revealed a smile for the first time…

......

“Ahhhhh….” Frightened screams could be heard from the cliff. Moreover, due to the high pressure from the wind, the voices were altered.

*Bang!* A black dot fell from the top of the cliff, growing larger, finally, a human figure appeared. It was a person from the town who wore hunter gear. His face contorted and let out a hair-raising scream, free-falling from the top of the cliff.

*Bang!* The hunter smashed directly onto a rock blade and the huge force of impact directly severed his body in two.

The corpse which was in two fell on the ground creating a huge pit. The bones and flesh were mixed together, the original appearance could not be recognised at all.

Beside these two pits, there was a smaller pit. It had the same gory scene, only that the skull belonged to an animal similar to a deer. “How is it?”

At the bottom of the cliff, Roth crossed his arms and inspected. Shaya too stood beside him. Moreover, in front of him, there was a semicircle object which glowed in green. From that object, Jayden’s voice could be heard.

"Nothing new! It’s just more meat paste, the result is similar to the deer from before!” Roth sneered. “It seems that our plan has failed…”

On top of the cliff, Noah and the other two crowded around. Upon listening to the voice from the other half of the green semicircle object, their faces disappointed. "Well, shit." 

“From the start, an animal, till the last, a human. It seems like there are some other conditions that need to be met!” Noah was the first to recover from his low spirits.

“Let us think carefully, we are running out of specimens to test!” Bosain revealed a sardonic smile, pointing at the empty ground nearby.

On the empty ground, there were a few Estrus Mountain Town civilians who looked aghast at Noah and the others. If not for the fact that their mouths were stuffed, they would most likely be cursing or begging for mercy right now.

Ever since Jayden suggested finding substitutes, the five of them had immediately split up and done their job. Bosain was the most useful, it seemed like he went back to the town to kidnap a few citizens back here.

For peak noble families from where he came from, the secular regular humans were like wild grass. No matter how many were cut off, more would sprout in the future. Being able to die for his cause was their glory!

Moreover, using human specimens had a smaller margin for error, much more than a deer. It was also in accordance with Noah’s interests!

At the same time, he approved of Bosain's actions. Unlike Jayden and others who held themselves back for some unknown reason, Bosain was unrestrained and did whatever needed to be done.

“Jumping down would represent courage! According to the book, there must also be ‘respect.’” Noah spoke of his own conjecture. "Then what is ‘respect’?” Bosain asked. Noah rummaged his memory thoroughly for any clues. After a minute, he realized the answer and smiled. "Of course, it makes sense." 

“In ancient times, when people visit their elders, they would bring a Beta Daisy to show their respect. This custom has lasted till today’s times, and many places in the south coast has retained such traditions!” Noah smiled and said.


	48. Chapter 48

"Indeed! The Brabet Kingdom on the south does have such traditions!” Bosain’s eyes gleamed. Let’s try again!”

He went to one of the captives directly. It was a blue-haired kid which had not matured yet. “Be honoured kiddo! Being able to make contributions in front of mighty Mages!” Bosain smirked, and immediately cut the ropes that were tying the boy.

Put this on well, better yet put it at the place 30 centimetres below your collar.” Noah immediately plucked a Beta Daisy flower and inserted it into the boy’s collars. “All preparatory work is work! Roth and Shaya, be careful!” Jayden roared into the receiver.

“Three, two, and one! Release!” Bosain grabbed onto the boy’s hair with an arm and walked towards the edge of the cliff. Looking at the boy who was flailing, he smirked and let go of his hand.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!”

The little boy spit off the thing stuffed in his mouth and let off a horrified scream! After which, both his hands waved wildly as if a drowned person trying to hold onto the last straw.

“I hope it’s a success this time.” On the cliff, Noah muttered as he stood with the other two watched the screaming boy turn into a dot. Suddenly, Noah and the rest discovered an energy wave.

[This feeling! It won’t be mistaken! It’s the energy waves formed when a secret plane opens!] Noah's lips curled up.

“Sha Sha…” Noises came from the receiver. “He disappeared! I see the person who was falling in midair engulfed by a light, completely disappearing!” Shaya’s voice could be heard with a trace of excitement in it.

“Let us go immediately!” Roth’s voice, too, sounded from the receiver. Moments later, the five gathered at the cliff as they gasped in amazement at the methods of ancient Mages.

“Courage and respect! Who would have thought of that?” Shaya spoke in a wondrous tone. “With no defense spells and jumping off the cliff, where many rock blades have been imbued with eternal sharpness. Even a high rank Warrior would not dare try it…”

“Moreover, one has to carry a Beta Daisy. If not, the secret plane wouldn’t be opened…” Jayden smiled, “Xander, nice one!”

At this moment, even Bosain revealed an approving smile. Shaya even clapped for him at the side. “Oh! All of this is due to everyone’s efforts!” Noah lowered his head slightly, revealing a humble yet proud smile.

“The secret plane has already been discovered, what are we waiting for?” Roth immediately plucked a Beta Daisy and placed it on his body. "There are them too!” Bosain pointed at the frightened captives.

“I’ll end it!” Jayden stretched both his hands and the vines continue to extend. “Wait!” Noah spoke suddenly, restricting Jayden’s movement. “What is it, could it be that you want to beg for them?” Bosain looked at Noah in amusement.

"No! Only that, the secret plane might contain many other mechanisms like this, who knows if there are other uses for them!” Noah gave a viable reason. "Moreover, it's like they can escape when they are tied up and next to five Paragons." 

"Very well! If we use too much time inside the secret plane, they will die of starvation. Noah, you are indeed a Mage!” Bosain smiled and directly held a Beta Daisy in his hands, “Let’s go! Are we still going to wait?”

“Jump!” The five Mages each carried a Beta Daisy and jumped from the cliff. *Bang!* During the high-speed drop, Noah’s skin was almost sunken from the high pressure.

His eyes slightly reddened, and he felt as if the blood in his whole body was about to shoot out. When the five of them fell halfway, a circle of light shone on the precipice.

The light turned into a circle and the air writhed, revealing the scene of another dimension. “The entrance of the secret plane!” Bosain shouted.

Following which, the eyes of the members gleamed, and a strong weightlessness feeling overcame them. After the earth spinning feeling, Noah and the rest came to a dark cave.

“Such a large place, it should be a subterranean area! Only that we don’t know where it is, since the underground of the bottom of the cliff was already searched with spells many times. It’s impossible to be there!” Noah got up slowly.

"Where’s the boy?” Shaya tidied the hair that covered her forehead and suddenly cried. “The boy from earlier has disappeared!”

“It’s not that!” Roth lowered his head and pointed to the ground. There was a puddle a blood and the broken pieces of clothes of the boy. “As expected, danger lurks in the secret plane along with the remnants!” After seeing this scene, Noah’s eyes flashed.

Earlier when he disclosed the information to enter, he could have kept it to himself and wait until the others have returned home before returning on his own.

However, he still chose to tell the others. This was definitely not because he had had a change of character. But because they could be useful! 

Noah was extremely clear on his strength. Just he alone maybe won't be able to break through every mechanism in the secret plane to obtain the inheritance. 

He could try to organize a team of his own later made of stronger Mages, but that would only lead to more problems. Furthermore, even if it was a team he organised, at the very end when they discovered the inheritance of the Great Warlock Cadeus, Noah was certain that an internal strife would occur!

For Mages, the Great Warlock Cadeus was a myth amongst legends! His inheritance has a deadly allure to any Mage! Anyway, falling out was inevitable, so it would be better to fall out with a group of weaklings than a group of Officer Ranks. 

Right now, unless all of the members somehow break through to Officer Rank, the final one laughing would definitely be him! “It seems like the boy had been attacked by some dangerous creature!” Jayden took out his magic artifact, a green badge, and held in his hand.

The surroundings were extremely dim and the visibility was poor. The others could not see very far, and Noah wasn't that much better off with just his eyes.

The five of them huddled together to face any outside attack. “Look at this!” Roth squatted down and pointed at a semicircle track.

Noah looked at the direction he pointed at, and the semicircle track was extremely deep, extending to the depths far away. Moreover, these tracks appeared the most around the boy’s remains. 

"It’s a snake’s trail.” Noah felt a scale the size of a palm from the tracks and blurted out. “A snake’s track? Which means, there is a dangerous snake creature concealed in the area!”

Roth’s right-hand muscle bulged and his sleeves exploded. *Swoosh!* White tentacles continuously extended from it, creating a defense by shielding his surroundings.

*Sssii!* *Sssii!* The spitting of a snake’s tongue continuously sounded.

“It seems like the Mage who left his inheritance here had an affection for snake type creatures!” Noah made a dumb comment as if to lighten the mood. “But, what could this all mean?”

Regarding the records of the Great Warlock Cadeus, they only appeared in poems and travel notes. Noah had not discovered any journals that covered the happenings of the Great Warlock Cadeus in detail, even in his previous life. According to his conjecture, this information should only be available for high ranking court mages or big shots in the Church of Light.

“It seems like it’s a large one!” Bosain licked his lips. The silver metal covered him fully, turning into a full body armour. *Bang!*

A gigantic long black figure charged towards the party under the concealment of the darkness. *Chi Chi!* Countless tentacles reached out, wrapping on the figure of the black figure.

Roth guffawed, “I caught you!” “Cluster Ball!” Shaya held a bright fire ball in her hands and tossed it in the air. The fire ball exploded in midair, spreading countless small embers, illuminating the cave.

Noah pretended to squint his eyes and size up the creature that Roth had bound. In truth, he has been aware of the snake monster's presence the entire time with his mana sense. He looked at the creature in front.

A giant snake, more than a dozen metres long, and was unnaturally black in colour all over. It was filled with the rhombus-shaped scales. On its back, there was a long red line, stretching from the head to its tail and spreading into many thin red lines which looked like tiny red veins.

On the middle of the snake’s head, there was a small stubby horn, emitting immense energy waves from it. Under the horn was a pair of triangular shaped pupils. Its bright yellow eyes looked like amber, as it stared at Noah and the rest.

At this moment, the giant snake seemed to be held down by a ball of tentacles wrapped around it, rooted to the spot. Compared with the snake, Roth seemed like a midget. 

Noah observed the monster in more detail with his mana sense. At the same time, he pulled out every bit of knowledge he had on snake type monsters and compared it with the look of the monster in front of him. 

What he found out was interesting. [This snake monster is surprisingly a mix of different snake type monsters. It's a successful chimera!] The horn on it's head, for example, was something that only one snake type race monster had, Crimson Horn Snakes! And yet, this monster was pitch black!


	49. Chapter 49

Noah was ecstatic. This creature was a living relic of an ancient era! What's better, the monster didn't look too strong, at most Officer Rank. However, Noah had to play the part of a clueless youngster, so revealing any information would be bad. He decided that it would be better to pretend that it's a Crimson Horn Snake. 

"Roth, be careful! Judging by the horn on it's head, that's a Crimson Horn Snake! It's might is extremely high, much higher than your imagination!” 

“Hisssssss!” Before Noah had finished warning him, the chimera let out an ear-piercing hiss.

The massive body of the chimera began to writhe and the tail was sent flailing. The cave seemed to shake. *Pa Pa!* The milky white tentacles broke constantly, and from its wounds, there was white dense pus. 

The triangular pupils of the chimera seemed to reveal a glint of ridicule. Following which, it turned back into the eyes of a beast and bit on Roth who had fallen to the ground. “Save him!”

Shaya and Jayden roared, and a few green vines and silver flying knives was sent flying towards the chimera snake’s body. *Bang!* The flying knives and vines hit on the scales of the snake, and sparks were created. 

The chimera snake did not budge at all and opened its bloody mouth, directly chomping on Roth, swallowing him with a gulp. “Oh, no!”

On the neck of the giant snake, there was a bulge as if someone was attacking within. Very soon, the bulge entered the stomach of the snake and the struggle within grew smaller and smaller, finally turning still.

The whole process took only a few seconds, so fast that Jayden and the others did not have time to rescue him. "Crimson Horn Snake?”

Bosain who was on the side recovered from the shock. “Isn’t that an existence that, when matured, could deal with a General Rank Mage? Why has it appeared here?”

“It could go against a General Rank Mage?” Jayden and the others jumped in shock! A General Rank! That is the rank the Grand Duke of a kingdom holds, able to singlehandedly suppress all of the high nobility! 

"If it’s General Rank, we would have long been dead, not even a speck left. Could it be that this Crimson Horn Snake has not matured yet?” Noah noticed that others began mentally crumbling, so he began muttering within their earshot. 

In fact, the chimera snake was very much an adult, but it was weakened. Truth be told, he actually didn't know just what rank this monster was supposed to hold in it's top form. 

[However, due to the duration that it has been sealed for and not being able to eat, it has regressed into an elementary Paragon Rank! It was probably awakened by the human boy earlier…”]

This chimera snake could be the byproduct of the Great Warlock Cadeus before, and was left here according to his wishes. There was most likely no food in this secret plane, hence, the chimera snake could only hibernate to reduce the consumption needed for its body.

However, an uncountable number of years have passed. Even if the chimera snake tried to conserve its strength, it could not have reversed the decomposition effect. From originally a creature which could go against a General Rank at least, it had now regressed to the standard of a Paragon Rank Mage. 

After swallowing Roth, the chimera snake’s pupils showed a hint of satisfaction, before sizing up Noah and the others.

“It is still a young Crimson Horn Snake, not even an Officer Rank. We still have a chance!” Noah didn't want to see Jayden and the rest dismayed and losing their fighting spirit after hearing Bosain declare it as a ‘General Rank’, hence, he quickly shouted to boost their confidence. 

In the short period of time Jayden and the rest wouldn’t be able to discover the truth, so Noah just simply told a lie in its place.

“A fledgling?” Bosain’s eyes flashed. “Indeed! This Crimson Horn Snake is too weak, even weaker than an Officer Rank Mage. It is definitely in its pre-adolescent phase!”

“This is a creature which could fight against General Rank Mages in the future when it grows up! If I were to sign a contract with it…” 

Bosain muttered and his armour immediately flashed. A metal liquid was held in his right hand, turning into a silver white sword. “Come! The brutal Crimson Horn Snake of the stories! Let me, Bosain, be your owner!”

Bosain's eyes were frenzied and he directly charged forward. *Bang!* The thin silver sword slashed at the chimera snake’s scales, creating a long gash. A few palm sized scales too dropped out. 

"Indeed, it if were a matured Crimson Horn Snake, I would have no chances at all to break its defensive forcefield!” Bosain hollered. “This is mine! This Crimson Horn Snake must definitely belong to me!”

“Hisssssssss!” The chimera snake hissed angrily and flung its tail. *Bang!* As if it were a black lightning, the long tail viciously struck Bosain. Bosain seemed to fly out like a cannonball, creating a large hole in the walls of the cave.

*Rumble rumble!* Mud and rocks fell down, revealing Bosain who was wearing his shining white armour.

“Xander, Jayden, and Shaya, help me to restrain it. Not only can you get the friendship of the Wordsworth Family, I am also willing to give up all of the rewards obtained during this exploration!”

Bosain shook his head and finally recovered from the dizziness, seeking help from Noah and the others. "No matter what, let us restrain this Crimson Horn Snake first. If not, we won’t have a chance to obtain anything!”

Jayden spoke as he channeled a large amount of mana into the green badge. Ripples of jade green colour continuously came from the badge.

*Peng!* Countless jade green vines seemed to fill the cave as it tried to entangle the chimera snake. Noah began throwing many green colored potions at the snake. A large murky green cloud immediately engulfed the chimera snake within, the corrosive sounds constantly emitting from within the mist.

Shaya too took out her prized magic artifact. It had the appearance of a rather old wooden comb. Shaya immediately used it to comb her fire red beautiful hair. 

*Whoosh!*! The fire red hair grew rapidly. In the blink of an eye, there was already a layer of hair on the ground. After which, the ground of the whole cave was dyed red.

“It is actually a type of binding type magic artifact. Combined with Jayden’s green badge, it may really even restrain this Crimson Horn Snake!” Noah pretended to be ecstatic.

After the dark green corrosive cloud had dissipated, it revealed the massive chimera snake's figure within. The scales were still gleaming, as usual, only that in that large gash that Bosain had left on its body, the surrounding flesh had been corroded to a purple black state.

The huge snake’s eyes seemed dispirited. Looking at it, it was evident that Noah’s attack had some effect on it.

“All together!” Jayden nodded his head towards Shaya. Countless green vines from midair wrapped around the chimera snake, even around its head. At the same time, the innumerable fire red hair on the ground was like a steel net. Very soon it wrapped itself like a net, trapping the chimera snake within.

*Bang!* The green vines and red hair continuously tightened, leaving circles after circles of red and green imprints on the snake’s body.

The huge snake lost its balance and fell to the ground, bringing up dust and rock shards. "Nice one!” Bosain praised them. His body in midair left several white afterimages.

After a few jumps, he came to the top of the chimera snake’s head. “Little baby, you’re mine now!” A smug and zealous expression filled Bosain’s face. He immediately withdrew a scroll which emitted immense energy waves, directly at the chimera snake’s eyes. 

"This is… A sealing contract within a scroll!” Noah recognized the magic circle inscribed on the scroll. In it, a contract formation was sealed within. It had to cost at least 70 000 low grade mana crystals. Moreover, not just anyone could buy it!

This price has long since surpassed the price of many magical creatures for Mages. From this, one could see that only those large families which had been around for many years could possess such great items. 

Noah looked at Bosain who was opening the scroll and his lips curled up. [A pity that it is such a powerful contract scroll. If it were used against a youngling of a powerful creature, there could still be a chance of success. However, this chimera snake’s mental strength is not in such a lowered state…]

Bosain who didn't have the knowledge and experience that Noah had would naturally not know this fact. At this moment, his face carried a fevered gaze. Coupled with his trembling hands, he chanted an incantation and ripped opened the magical scroll.

*Bang!* An extremely radiant white light rose in front of Bosain and the black snake. The white continuously circulated, finally forming a strange magic formation. The formation was laced with mysterious runes and magic characters.

"Come! Become my contractual partner!” Bosain muttered. From the formation a green light appeared, directly entering Bosain's forehead.

As for the other flash of green light, it was sent towards the chimera snake, moreover directly imprinting itself on the large skull of the snake. 

As if knowing that once it was bound to the contract and lose its freedom forever, the black snake thrashed continuously, resisting the entry of the green light.

“Hurry! Faster!” Cold sweat the size of beans trickled down Bosain’s face, staring intently at the skull of the chimera snake.

“My dream, my life, when I obtain this Crimson Horn Snake…” Just when the green light had completely entered the chimera snake’s head, a strange sight occurred!


	50. Chapter 50

The eyes of the chimera snake revealed a human-like mocking expression. *Bang!* A tremendous amount of mental strength was released, rejecting the green light instantly.

Not only that, the contract spell formation in midair exploded violently too. Bosain’s chest seemed to have been struck by a hammer and he was sent flying backwards. Large chunks of silver armour fell and crimson red blood was constantly spurted from Bosain’s mouth.

“The backlash from the contract!” Jayden who was watching from afar blurted out.

If the contract failed on a powerful creature, magicians will often suffer backlash on their mental strength. Moreover, apart from that mental strength backlash, there was also the attack from the creature’s own mental strength.

Looking on, it seemed that Bosain’s spirit had been severely damaged. Furthermore, due to the connection of the mental strength with the magic artifact, the magic artifact had also been damaged.

*Wiiinng!* Just when Bosain was sent flying back, a white protection rune flew up from his body. A milky white light then engulfed Bosain who was still vomiting out blood. 

This kind of milky white radiance was resplendent and filled with a sacred feeling. Under the radiance of the light, even the naked eye could see that Bosain was rapidly recovering.

“A single-use healing rune?” Noah’s eyes squinted, recognising the origins of that white protection rune. The only race who could create runes were dwarves, more precisely, dwarven runesmiths. The created runes are incredibly expensive, and are very rarely sold to other races. Bosain having this meant that the Prime Minister had to cash out a lot of mana crystals, at least 150 000 high grade crystals. 

“There are indeed plenty of items on his body!” Although Bosain did not suffer a severe injury as was expected, Noah was still somewhat satisfied with it. After all, it had forced him to use one of his trump cards.

The synthesizer of this protection rune had to use many precious resources. Moreover, it required a huge amount of mana from a high Rank Light Mage. Even if it was Bosain, he couldn’t be holding on to another of this protection rune.

“What happened?” Jayden and Shaya who saw Bosain flying back revealed expressions of disbelief. “The contract binding has failed. Hurry and kill this damned snake!”

Noah decided it was time to act. He didn't want to waste too much time on this snake. He poured mana inside the necklace made of beast teeth around his neck. The necklace then spawned five beast illusions that surrounded Noah. "Fuse." 

On Noah's command, the beast illusions now did something they didn't do before; they fused into one big beast illusion in the form of a sabertooth tiger! This was the ultimate might of the necklace artifact that Targar never used against Noah. 

It was because the consumption of the mana was too great! After using the artifact for a few times an Officers mana would be left at around 15 percent! Using this move meant only two things; either the user was going all out with the intension of dying, or he was surrounded by people he could kill easily with low amount of mana. 

The appearance of the giant illusion attracted everyone's attention. [So this is Xander's trump card. He is not to be underestimated!] Jayden thought that this alchemist in front of him was the weakest member, but who would have expected him to have this! Jayden felt that if he went against Xander right now it would be a hard fought battle.

After releasing an explosive amount of mental strength to inflict damage on Bosain, the chimera snake right now continuously writhed its massive body, the energy waves surging out rampantly. It sensed the danger from the sabertooth illusion and was trying to retreat. 

*Pa pa pa pa!* Countless vines and hair were broken; Jayden’s and Shaya’s faces, too, became more and more uneasy. “Hurry! I can’t hold on much longer!” Shaya shouted from the side. 

"Attack!" On Noah's command, the sabertooth jumped high in the air. Two arcs of slashes were sent from it's paws. The two slashes crossed one another, forming a large ‘X’ in the air that was sent towards the chimera snake. *Chi!*

The ‘X’ slash directly chopped at the neck of the chimera snake. Scales continuously fell and blood spurted out of the wound. There was now an 'X' shaped wound on the chimera snake. Noah was actually a bit taken aback. He expected the snake to be decapitated instantly, but it's scales were harder than expected. [Chimeras are truly impressive creatures.]

"Hisssssss!” The black snake let off an enraged cry. It violently thrashed its body and broke many more vines and hair on its body. “Good! Maintain this might. As long as it’s done several more times, we can definitely decapitate this snake!”

Glee appeared on Shaya’s face. “Hisssssssssssss!” After the madness, the chimera snake strangely calmed down. After halting its writhing, the scales on it's body continuously flashed with a black light, emitting a layer of negative energy that Noah was familiar with.

“This is the energy particles of the Shadow element! Be careful!” Noah immediately warned the rest. Alas, they were a step too late!

Without warning, half of the chimera snake’s body turned transparent. First, it was the scales, then the skin, the flesh and finally the bones… 

The transparency very soon covered the body of the whole snake. The giant snake which had the length of a dozen metres disappeared in the next moment.

“What is this? A concealment spell? A pity that under the two restraints from our magic artifact, what use would that be?” Shaya spoke in bewilderment. [It’s not a concealment spell, but a natural ability which can negate any attacks while it is in stealth mode. In other words, a bloodline ability it gained from one of the snake monsters it was made of!] Noah sumrised.

*Flop!* The countless green vines and red hair on the chimera snake seemed to lose its target in an instant. It seemed to be binding only thin air now and fell on the floor. “A spell with an effect like this?” Jayden’s pupil shrank. “This is no longer crazy. Why did it not it use it earlier?”

“Because the consumption was too great and it cannot withstand it for a second time!” Noah guessed. This bloodline ability was comprehended by the chimera snake as an innate skill after maturing. Moreover during its regression, it had fortunately retained this skill.

The skill achieved the effect of an Officer Rank spell. Noah tried to imagine imagine the might of this skill when the chimera was in its mature state. “I’m afraid that even Magistrates would not be able to discover it, only be swallowed as food while in fear!”

"Hurry! The triangular defensive formation!” Noah roared. *Sou Sou!* Jayden and Shaya who knew that it was not the time to be slow rushed towards Noah’s side. Even Bosain joined them with a gloomy expression.

The four of them formed a defense formation. They stood at the three corners of it as a layer of vine and hair continued to wrap around the area, protecting the four within. This was one of the combinations that they had agreed on previously.

An invisible enemy was the most dangerous! Noah, intrigued, looked at the surroundings, not knowing at all when the chimera snake would strike.

Under Shaya's spell, the whole cave was brightly lit. There was only dried mud on the floor. Apart from scales and blood, there were completely no traces of the snake’s tracks whatsoever. It was as if such a massive snake had just vanished.

"Be careful, this is very similar to a Shadow Element spell—Shadow Stealth. I have seen it once performed by an assassin in my family. They are completely invisible on the physical plane as long as the time limit was not up, or when an enemy attacks it…” Bosain spoke hurriedly, with a hint of anxiety and gloom in his tone.

Noah understood the feelings behind it. No matter who it was—after losing a scroll worth tens of thousands of magic crystals and a rune which could protect their life—they would not feel good about it.

"What should we do? Continue to wait for it to appear?” Jayden was extremely unresigned as he controlled the vines to lash at the surrounding granite walls. A pity, however, the dust created did not help pinpoint the location of the snake.

“Snake type creatures have a strong intent for vengeance. It would definitely not leave like this. Maybe it is just around us, waiting for an opportunity…” Noah’s voice was faintly discernible. It made Shaya who was beside him tense and kept a tight grip on that magic artifact comb in her hands.

*Hu!* Suddenly, a dozen metres in front of Jayden, many translucent scales appeared in midair and yet vanished again quickly. “There!” Jayden’s eyes flashed. Dozens of vines crisscrossed, forming a large net and was sent over.

After which, Shaya shot out a fireball, following right behind the net. *Bang!* The green net vines caught nothing but air, falling to the ground.

The fireball too caused a huge pit on the ground with an explosion, yet no traces of the snake was discovered. “Mm?” Noah released his mana sense and carefully observed the surroundings. He managed to see thin traces of the chimera snake moving towards him. If the chimera snake wasn't so weakened Noah would've never been able to find her like this.

He immediately made a decisive action and rolled on the ground, away from his original position. “Hisssss!” Behind the place where Noah was originally standing, there was a flickering in the air and the massive body of the chimera snake materialised.

From the huge head of the snake, a vicious ray of light flashed. The snake opened its jaws and clamped on Shaya who was standing close to Noah's original position. Half of her body enter the snake’s jaws as it chewed.

*Boom!* An intense explosion sounded within the snake’s mouth and a layer of purple flame escaped from the jaws. "It’s Shaya! She self-destructed her magic artifact right before she died!” Jayden spoke hoarsely.


	51. Chapter 51

"Now!” Bosain roared and the silver armour on his body formed again. He also produced a silver longsword, which shined in a brilliant light.

“All out!” Jayden’s eyes reddened. He chanted a few incantations and began pouring in more and more mana into the badge. As a finishing touch, he bit his finger and dripped blood on the badge. With a green glow, the badge absorbed the blood.

*Bang!* Countless vines broke out from the ground. Only that the vines now were all red and the reverse thorns were even denser. On them, there were even a tinge of green and an extremely dangerous aura came permeating from it.

“Since it’s become like this.” Noah waved an arm, and a dozen fire red potions left his hands. Several more bright flames were exploded on the chimera snake’s body. He also summoned the sabertooth illusion again.

"Kill!!!” Jayden and Bosain yelled out at the same time. The red vines had a faster speed than before, even bringing a gale of wind. In an instant, it had already bound the chimera snake which was rolling on the floor.

At the same moment, the sabertooth illusion sliced the chimera snake again, this time carving out it's right eye. "Hissssssss!” Noah didn't miss the chance and threw more red potions into the snake's mouth.

The chimera snake’s mouth was set on fire and one of its eyeballs had been carved out. From the socket, there was a huge amount of resplendent and translucent fluid that poured out. The snake was screeching in agony at this point in time.

“Meet your death!” During the explosion, Bosain’s silver armour turned into a metal liquid, converging onto the longsword in his hands. After this scene, the silver longsword immediately became five metres long. On the blade, there were even some mystical runes.

“The strongest power! The strongest state! Go to hell!” Bosain’s muscles bulged and there were plenty of flashes of light from the spell.

Noah only glanced at it and discovered many small spells which could temporarily increase the physical attributes of strength and vitality. 

Under the support of so many spells, right now Bosain’s strength had appeared the same as a peak Paragon Rank Warrior's.

*Pu!* The longsword easily pierced through the defense of the chimera snake right into the crucial point of the giant snake, the place where the heart was.

Innumerable fresh blood laced with some blackish blood frothed out. The snake’s figure tried to raise itself, yet it was held tightly by the red vines. Also, the giant red vines climbed to where the wound was and, as if it had an intelligence of its own, it bore its way right into the wound.

“Hisssssssssss!” The giant snake continuously bellowed and twisted as blood constantly splattered onto the muddy ground. After struggling for a dozen of minutes, the chimera snake’s left eye was completely devoid of lustre and it fell to the ground.

“Is it dead?” Jayden looked somewhat disbelieving as he asked. The red vines were still writhing on the body of the snake. "Attack it some more, you never know." Noah advised. 

After which, the 3 Mages began attacking the corpse again. Finally, they could confirm that this horrible snake—which killed two of their party members—was really dead.

After hearing this conclusion, Jayden hurriedly retracted his red vines and collapsed onto the ground. Noah noted that there was not a single sign of redness on Jayden’s face. His pallid complexion made it extremely obvious that he had just lost a lot of blood.

As for Bosain on the other side, the greatsword had turned back into the liquid metal and was tucked back into his robes. Even the armour could not maintain its form. Looking at it, his magic artifact seemed to have consumed a lot of energy.

These little details had not escaped Noah. He himself was doing rather well in comparison, being left with around 30% of his mana. "Also this! Hurry and harvest them!”

Noah looked at the black snake which was devoid of life. The wounds on its body continuously had blood flowing out from it. Noah began taking out bottles and filing them with snake blood.

“What are you doing?” Bosain and Jayden immediately pulled their distance away from Noah, looking at him warily. Once the threat was gone, under the enticement of benefits, seeds of distrust was unknowingly planted and had already begun to sow between the party members.

“Just collecting the materials!” Noah never stopped and resumed filing the bottles with blood. After realizing that Noah wasn't doing anything harmful, Bosain and Jayden then relaxed their guard. However, Noah could still detect a trace of wariness deep within their eyes.

“The Crimson Horn Snake’s blood is an ingredient for many potions. I wish to have all of it. As for the other materials on the snake, I can let go of a portion of them to match the value of the blood!” Noah smiled and explained.

The contents of the black book that Noah saw back then in the experiment lab near Cold Wind Fortress surfaced on his mind then. Towards several words such as ‘modulate’, ‘bloodline’ and the likes made him interested in the process of how bloodline Warlocks came to be.

“Blood?” Bosain cocked his head and suddenly laughed. “Indeed! For many Alchemists, the blood from powerful creatures was often a necessary ingredient for their potions.” 

The concept of bloodlines and such did not enter Bosain’s train of thoughts at all.

After all, Warlocks are something that has been extinct for hundred of thousands of years. They were considered one of the worst enemies of the continent's kingdoms and were feared as descendants of monsters. If you were a Warlock, you would automatically become an enemy of the Church of Light and every kingdom, be they humans or not. 

As for how to extract the ancient bloodlines, this subject had been extensively researched by many magicians, yet there were no breakthroughs. 

"This Crimson Horn Snake’s ingredients are at least worth 100,000 magic crystals!” Jayden’s eyes gleamed and his face revealed an intoxicated expression.

Towards magical snake creatures like these, the part that was the most valuable were their scales, innards, brains and the likes. These were often the good ingredients to synthesize magic artifacts.

As for blood and other stuff, apart from Potion Masters and Alchemists who needed them occasionally, there were not many uses for them elsewhere. 

After the circumstance where Noah acted first, the three Mages discussed briefly. Jayden and Bosain would then gather the most valuable few parts of the snake, then put it them into their spatial rings before leaving the place.

To them, right now the loot from the snake was just the reward from the outer area of the inheritance, who knows how many more good things there were inside there.

“This remnant site seems to be of an extremely high grade!” Jayden sized up the cave to try to search for more clues. “It actually planted a sentinel mechanism right at the very start, even leaving such a dangerous creature… A pity for Roth and Shaya…”

Towards the deaths of these two party members, Jayden and Bosain only put on a superficial downcasted expression before recovering very soon. Noah didn't even change his facial expression. 

Magicians were often apathetic creatures. Very soon, the three diverted their attention back towards the inheritance. “Using powerful creatures to guard the remnants seems to be the style of the Kuakural period!”

Bosain seemed to recall something. “The Kuakural period’s constructions were simple and boorish. Even those warning mechanisms were extremely simple, it would not go past two stages!”

"Which is to say, once we get through another mechanism, we should be able to near the heart of the inheritance!”

Jayden’s eyes gleamed. “Then what are we still waiting for?” To him, finding information to advance into an Officer Rank was the most important task. Although collecting advanced ingredients was not bad, it did not have the allure of the inheritance of an ancient Mage.

The three of them spent some time looking around the area of the cave, before eventually finding a hole in the wall. Jayden decided that he would scout ahead.

"Not many dangers ahead. However, five thousand metres further, there seems to be something like a translucent wall, as if there has to be a verification of some sorts before going through. ” On the other side, Noah too used his mana sense to inspect the cave before getting the same result.


	52. Chapter 52

"That being so, why don’t we all enter together?!” Bosain looked at the other two. “Certainly!” Resolve surfaced on Jayden’s face. For him, the exploration, this time, was only considered successful if he found a Mage inheritance!

“I have no objections.” Noah looked calm on the surface, yet it was contrary to what he felt. He was aware of the person who left behind this inheritance and what was buried here.

[A Magistrate Rank Mage, a person from legends, inheritance of the Great Warlock Cadeus!] Noah’s heart blazed in desire. The three had the same opinion and entered the rusty metal passage.

The tunnel was broad, enough to fit 3 adults walking side by side. Since they were 3 youths, naturally they had more freedom for movement. 

Noah touched the wall and grey dust fell down, revealing the silver metal wall behind it. At first, it felt as icy-cold, then again it felt warm. This metal gave a strange sensation when Noah’s fingers touched upon it.

"This is the Crying Blood Alloy. It seems that during its casting, it requires the fresh blood of beasts or slaves. Reportedly, there is a certain limit to its effect on the evil spirits!” Bosain whispered.

"Hm." Noah knew that already but pretended to be surprised. Bosain put on a smug face and walked in front. The distance to the translucent screen I saw earlier is becoming shorter!”

Jayden walked on the right, suddenly speaking. “Since this is a passage constructed by this type of alloy, there may be something appearing ahead…”

“An evil spirit!” Noah and Bosain called in unison, their faces looking awful.

For Mages that lack artifacts that defend against soul attacks, evil spirits are the worst possible enemy. If it wasn't for the inheritance, Bosain and Jayden would have already retreated. 

"It’s here!” Noah's eyes squinted, there was a bright hole appearing in front of them. After passing through the cave hole, Noah and the rest felt a radiant light whose glare bothered their eyes and they could not help but shut their eyes.

When they opened their eyes again, they had already entered a sea of flowers with varying colours. Tulips, flaming poppies, red large winding chrysanthemum, green calla lily, various flowers that Noah knew and don’t know were blooming in this flower garden.

The garden seemed to be under some spell. Different blooming seasons and different areas of flowers were blooming wildly in this garden.

The secular world flowers were only for decoration. After a quick whiff, Noah discovered many useful herbs for magicians.

Many were those that even high Rank Mages could never find. Yet now, they were sitting here in this garden. “Violet Leaves Flower, Nose Root Fruit, Walking Dragonfly, Inverted Sunflower and there is even the Moon Flower!” Jayden and Bosain, too, gasped in amazement.

Towards the end, there were many species of flowers that Noah could not recognise, but seeing where they were planted, their value must be above that of the Moon Flower.

Right now, Noah finally knew why the Hanging Gardens were named so. This huge garden was at least a dozen square kilometres. How many valuable plants were here? How much worth of mana crystals? Noah only thought about it for a while and felt dazed.

"Haha… the Liquid Sun Poppy! It’s actually the Liquid Sun Poppy!” Jayden looked at a flaming plant at the middle with a fervent gaze.

“One of the rarest Fire Element plants in existence! It's said that the a fraction of the Sun resides within it!” Jayden muttered and his hand unknowingly went to reach for the golden yellow Liquid Sun Poppy. 

"Don’t!” Noah thought of something and spoke suddenly. Alas, it was too late. Jayden completely ignored Noah's warning and reached for the flowerbed.

*Ding Ling!* *Ding Ling!* *Ding Ling!* A sound similar to chimes sounded, and was extremely melodious to the ears. The air stopped! The wind stopped! Noah and the other two felt nothing below their feet and were immediately shifted to another area.

It seemed to be the interior of a villa. The four walls were displayed with brand new furniture. On the pale yellow desk, there was a lamp which contained an orange-red flame. “Where is this place?”

Jayden spoke, losing his voice. “A type of defense mechanism. It seems like we have been transported to another area!” Noah said emotionlessly, but he was quite annoyed by Jayden's stupidity and greed.

Bosain was looking at Jayden right now, and he no longer appeared friendly. "However, there is also good news. According to the Kuakural period’s traditions, if we solve this mechanism, most of the inheritance’s defensive mechanism will immediately lose their effect.”

Bosain’s face darkened. “Originally, we had many opportunities to explore, and this is all because of you!”

He pointed at Jayden. Noah suspected that if not for the dangers lurking in the area Bosain would most likely attack him. “Teehee! Who’s here to play with Alice?” A mechanical girl’s voice sounded.

At the turn of a corridor, something appeared—a Girl Doll. Noah noticed the giant mannequin that was in the shadows of the corridor’s corner.

This doll seemed to have to size of a grown adult. The eyeballs were of blue gems sewn in. It wore a pink frock and had beautiful blonde hair. On the chest, there was a red bowknot. “A vengeful spirit figurine!” Bosain stuttered.

"Hehe! You, come play with Alice!” The blonde girl pointed a finger at Noah. Her arms were made of fabric and had no palm. Only a naked arm which was a glossy hemisphere.

*Bang!* A translucent forcefield immediately exploded behind Noah. He flew up in the air and could not stop himself as he flew towards the cloth doll. “Come here! My little baby! Let Alice give you a hug!”

The cloth doll spread her arms as if wanting to hug Noah. Jayden and Bosain looked at each other and immediately left the cloth doll and retreated. They abandoned Noah and left.

“Hug as much as you want.” Noah could have simply shrugged off the doll's force but he didn't on purpose. It was not the time to show his real power yet. *Ding!* Many baby sized arms appeared faintly from the walls and ceiling, seemingly to pull on Noah. A pair of girl’s arms was going for Noah’s waist now.

"Aaaaaarrrgggghhhhh!!" The moment they touched Noah, all the hands disappeared into nothing, and the doll shrieked in pain. "Argh! You have hurt Alice!”

The cloth doll’s face split opened, revealing razor sharp teeth. “I’m going to eat you!” A pair of half transparent beast mouth immediately appeared before Noah and nipped down. "How primitive, it can't even register danger." 

Noah looked at the attacking mouth with disdain and stood in place. The result form before happened again. "Kyaaaaaahhh!!!" The mouth desintegrated and was replaced with the screaming doll face. "It burns, it burns, don't burn Alice!" Tears of blood fell on the floor as the doll covered her face. 

*Pa! Pa!*

The windows on the side were broken, and two figures immediately charged in. Bosain looked at Jayden, the surroundings and then looked at Noah. He smiled wryly. “It seems like no matter where we go, we will always return here!”


	53. Chapter 53

“It seems like we have to get rid of her first!” Noah’s face was expressionless as he pointed to the cloth doll which was still clutching its face.

Regarding the matter of the other two abandoning him earlier, it seemed like the trio were suffering from selective amnesia. “Fire! Alice hates fire the most!”

At this moment, the doll had already recovered from the pain. The originally beautiful face of the cloth doll was now charred black. Even an eyeball was now missing. However the doll still laughed and said. “The three of you, let’s play together!”

With a wave of its hand, the tables and chairs began to jump around. Even the lamps and closet seemed to grow a pair of small legs as they danced and sang nursery rhymes, gradually surrounding Noah and the other two. "Attack!" 

……

The trio constantly cast their spells on the tables and other furniture surrounding them. However, these creatures were too many, even if they killed a couple there was of not much use. 

Moreover, even if they used their magic artifacts to attack the doll, it would at most leave behind some scars and was mostly ineffective.

In the end, the 3 Mages were back to back, already confined by the figurine in an extremely small area. “There is no other choice!”

Bosain looked at Jayden and Noah who had pale expressions on their faces, and a hint of viciousness flashed across his own. “I have a formidable spell which requires time for preparation. Stall this freak for me!”

Saying which, Bosain withdrew a grey scroll that was drawn with various mystical patterns, immediately sitting cross-legged on the floor and chanted an incantation.

Hope glowed on the faces of Noah and Jayden. They cast their spells with great difficulty, blocking the advance of the monsters.

[He’s finally forced to use it, huh!] Noah thought. Jayden’s frail state was real. However, Noah was just feigning his frailty. He found it amusing how the worst enemy of all Mages and living beings in general was completely useless against him. 

However, from Bosain’s point of view, Noah and Jayden were newly advanced Paragons. Their mana had long since been depleted. Even Jayden had used his magic artifact several times. As for Noah, an Alchemist, being able to last till here had somewhat exceeded Bosain’s expectations.

If Bosain knew that Noah was an Officer Rank Mage, his eyes would fall out of their sockets. [A healing rune which was used earlier, an attack scroll, a contract scroll and a magic artifact which can take on the form of anything to attack and defend!]

Noah flung his potions and chanted an incantation, constantly panting. [Although Bosain belongs to a large family, he is after all only a Paragon. With these items, he is already unfathomable among Paragon Rank!]

Under the concealment of the intense energy waves from spells, Noah secretly calculated the remaining energy of Bosain.

Dozens of seconds later, Bosain had finally completed his activation of the magic scroll. The grey scroll was now floating in midair, emitting a fire red light. [This energy wave! It’s an Officer Rank spell! No wonder it needs such a long activation time!]

Noah’s pupils shrank. He thought what kind of idiot would give a Paragon Rank child such good items. Immense energy waves came from the scroll, not only did it send the creatures surrounding them in retreat, it faintly caused Jayden to be unable to breathe. 

Bosain’s family had actually provided him with an Officer Rank spell stored in a scroll, as his greatest trump card! [He is indeed from one of the big families, rich and overbearing, and certainly stupid!]

This scroll contained a seal Officer Rank spell. Not only were the ingredients for it exorbitant, it required an Light Officer Rank Mage to cast this spell over a dozen times to imbue it. Moreover, there needs to be a Grandmaster Refiner who is skilled in imbuing spell formations. Every one of these scrolls was extravagant. 

Each scroll was at least 250,000 high grade mana crystals and above! It had a sky-high cost and also there was the difficulty of imbuing. Apart from Paragons, no one else would have much use for it. Various reasons had caused scrolls like this to be rare in their numbers. 

Only large families like the Wordsworth Family would be able to have 1 or 2 of it. After forking out such a price, the scroll’s might was extremely deafening! 

Fire red energy waves continuously radiated, and the scroll automatically burned within the light. The flame, under the bright yellow light, revealed a giant Three-Legged Golden Crow.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow used its beak to ruffle its feathers, continuously issuing crystal clear cawing, as if like a real bird. Moreover, from the black pupils, signs of intelligence were observed, it seemed to have wisdom.

"Go!” Bosain’s face now was extremely pale as he punctured his lips with his teeth. On the side of the eyes, there was sweat rolling off, yet he let off an extremely zealous expression as he pointed at the cloth doll.

It seems like the spell he cast earlier allowed him to have a huge sense of satisfaction. “No! Don’t come over! Alice is scared!”

The cloth doll opposite retreated 3 steps. On that figurine’s face, there was an expression of fear, as if a little girl had encountered a bad guy. 

However, Noah and the others were not moved by this scene. [So you can recognize danger...] Along with Bosain’s orders, the Three-Legged Golden Crow flapped its wings and the bright yellow wings burned with flames as it flew around Bosain and the other two in a circle.

Several bean-sized flames dropped onto the furniture which had been given life. *Bang!* Balls of yellow flames were set ablaze, and the various chairs and tables were each reduced to a pile of grey ashes.

"Caw caw!”

The Three-Legged Golden Crow let out an elegant cry and flew across in the air, directly landing in front of the cloth doll. The bright, red, conical beak took aim and gave the cloth doll a light peck!

“Arghh!” The cloth doll Alice let out a frightened whimper and its body was immediately set on fire with the bright yellow flame. “Save Alice, Alice is actually very obedient…”

The figurine collapsed on the ground, reaching out a hand towards Noah and the others, its voice carrying a hint of pleading.

Noah and Jayden turned around and saw a crazed expression in Bosain’s eyes as he continued to ignite the flame. The bright yellow flame burned continuously, finally turning the cloth doll in ashes.

“Alright!” Bosain turned over and faced Noah and Jayden, revealing a smiling face with his intentions unknown. “Caw caw!”

At this moment, the Three-Legged Golden Crow cawed and turned into the grey scroll earlier as it fell to the ground. *Pa!* The grey scroll disintegrated into ashes into the surroundings.

After seeing the energy of the scroll fully utilised, Bosain’s face looked terribly unsightly, but he still forced a smile on his face. 

“Alright, the creature is dealt with. Let us find the way out…” Just when Noah was about to say something, another loud crash sounded. Behind the cloth doll, the walls shook and revealed a crack, showing a straight tunnel.

On the wooden boards of the wall, there was a line of characters written in an ancient language.

"Seekers who are able to come here will have a chance to obtain my inheritance—Cadeus Veneficus Malum." “Cadeus Veneficus Malum is the Mage who left behind this inheritance?” Jayden revealed a longing and curious expression.

As for Bosain on his side, he muttered the name, Cadeus Veneficus Malum, repeatedly. An ecstatic expression gleamed in his eyes but was quickly restrained.

However, this had been seen by Noah who had been observing him furtively. He knew that Bosain had definitely thought what the name had represented. 

“I seemed to have heard of this name, but it’s very vague now!” At this moment, Noah also scratched his head, revealing a ‘dazed’ expression.

“No matter who, it’s definitely a powerful Mage! And his inheritance will definitely let me advance!” Jayden was extremely zealous and immediately rushed into the tunnel.

“Follow him!” Bosain and Noah followed closely behind Jayden. After walking through the tunnel, Noah and the others came to a study-room-like place.

The four walls were filled with bookshelves, yet not a single book was to be seen, which made Noah blurt out that it was a pity.

As for the large table in the centre, there was a black box placed neatly on it. Behind the study desk, there was a chair and a strange oil painting.

The oil painting showed a mysterious emblem—countless mystical runes formed the shape of a black silluete in the form of a man with long hair, surrounded by small stars!

“I seem to have seen this emblem somewhere before!” Noah said 'somewhat confused' before looking around again. In reality he was searching his memory for the emblem but ended up with nothing. He found that strange but didn't dwell on it.

[It seems like this place was set up by the Great Warlock Cadeus for his inheritance. This Great Warlock is still somewhat benevolent. The traps were all below the strength of an Officer. If he didn't starve the chimera snake on purpose, I as well could have perished here!]

“Wasn’t there a magician called ‘Cadeus’? Where are his remnants?” Noah wished to ask this question, but it was very soon flung to the back of his head.

Because the scene right now took on a massive change! After seeing the black box on the study desk, Bosain’s and Jayden’s panting started to become heavier.

*Bang!* A silver white longsword suddenly appeared in Bosain’s hands and was sent slashing towards Jayden.

The vine armour on Jayden’s body flashed, but a cut still appeared; his arm bleeding profusely. *Sou Sou Sou!*

The three of them immediately kept a distance from one another. “As expected, in the end, we are going to fall out huh?” Jayden clutched his arm, letting off a bitter smile.

Looking at Jayden in this state, Noah suddenly recalled that when they set off together, Jayden did not request for them to sign any contract. It seems like he had long since anticipated an outcome like this.


	54. Chapter 54

"Indeed! The inheritance of an official Mage is a sufficient reason for this fellowship to be broken!” Bosain spoke slowly.

“Not only that!” Now, the metal liquid covered Bosain’s body and turned into a silver white armour. “If it was just a spell model or something of that sort, I wouldn’t mind at all. But this is Cadeus Veneficus Malum's legacy!” Bosain’s face became flushed.

“We are talking about the Great Warlock Cadeus! The inheritance of a Magistrate Rank Mage!”

“The Great Warlock Cadeus?!” Clarity appeared on Jayden’s face. Of course, he had heard of the legend of this great Mage.

However, in the legends, the Great Warlock Cadeus used an alternative title. Apart from Noah who had a passion for history and Bosain who had a solid family foundation, there were many who weren’t aware of this fact.

“Since you know the reason, you can die in peace!” Bosain did not conceal the killing intent on his face as he viciously slashed the silver white sword down upon Jayden. *Hua!* The longsword split into countless small silver needles that were sent flying towards Jayden.

”Form a shield!” Jayden shouted. More vines appeared from the badge and took the form of a large shield, in front of Jayden. 

*Ding Ding Dang Dang!* Countless needles fell like rain onto his shield, creating many small holes. The huge impact sent Jayden staggering backwards. His face became filled with despair.

“Jayden! I know all of your tricks. Apart from your magic artifact what other trump cards do you have?” Bosain spoke these words to try and shatter Jayden’s confidence.

Jayden retreated until his back hit a wall, then he turned his head and shouted to Noah. “Xander! Let’s act together! If not we will both die!”

“Xander! Don’t believe him! If you can stay neutral and be on the sidelines, or even help me, I swear that you will obtain the friendship of the Wordsworth Family!”

After listening to the persuasion of both sides, 'Xander' appeared panic-stricken; he staggered back two steps and spoke in a quivering voice. “No! I don’t want any inheritance anymore, just let me go….”

After hearing those words, Jayden’s face looked even more aghast and anxious. Even his vine shield had become smaller in size.

Bosain, on the other hand, laughed loudly. “Haha… My Wordsworth Family will definitely welcome an Alchemist like Xander…” “As for you Jayden! You’re finished!”

The longsword in Bosain’s hands split again and each droplet of liquid metal floated in the air, turning into dart-like objects. “With my blood….”

After seeing the opponent’s attack, hopelessness surfaced on Jayden’s face. He used the same method as before and smeared his blood on the green badge.

In an instant, the green vine shield turned into a red giant one. “The energy in your badge should deplete soon huh? Even if you use your life force as a substitute how long can you last?!”

Bosain shouted and sent countless needles flying towards Jayden. *Bang!* The red shield exploded and the innumerable needles pierced Jayden’s body.

With countless holes present all over his body, Jayden was immediately dyed red. Regret and disbelief filled his face as he fell slowly to the ground.

“Hu hu…” Bosain was panting somewhat loudly at this moment. He turned around and faced Noah. “Well done! You did not attack me with him earlier!” With a sinister smile, Bosain pointed at Jayden who laid within a pool of blood.

“I, the heir to the Wordsworth family, the silver white Mage Bosain will grant you your preferred choice of death!”

As he spoke, a commiserating yet toying expression appeared on his face; he was like a lion or tiger who was playing with a rabbit. “Choice… Way to die….” Noah squeezed out a smile, “Mister Bosain, I don’t quite understand you!” 

"My meaning is extremely clear, you can only die here!” Bosain’s expression was cold. “The inheritance of the Great Warlock Cadeus is too important. I cannot allow the possibility of you leaking any information!”

“Originally, as a genius in Alchemy, you had a bright future. What a pity…” Bosain looked at 'Xander' regretfully, as if feeling sorry for his plight.

“Perhaps, you would like to end your own life … It might reduce some of the pain…” Bosain edged closer and closer to 'Xander', his voice gentle yet enticing.

There seemed to be a magical force in his voice, luring the Alchemist to do things the way he said. 'Xander’s' eyes went blank, his lips unconsciously formed the following, “I want to…”

“It’s going to be a success!” exclaimed Bosain, gleefully. At that moment, 'Xander' raised his head and grinned, revealing a pair of bright and shiny teeth, he said. “I want you dead!”

"What!" Bosain felt danger and quickly activated his artifact to create a silver shield over him. Noah sent out a mana slash and upon hitting the silver shield, it caused the shield to break like paper! 

"Huah!" Bosain was launched into the wall, breaking the empty bookshelves all around. He coughed up blood due to impact, and next to him, the silver shield returned to it's original form, a silver ball. The ball had cracks on it, and in a few seconds, it broke into pieces.

"No, how could this be...!" Bosain was stupefied. This weak Alchemist who only survived due to others taking care of him, actually destroyed an artifact! A realization dawned on Bosain. 

"It can't be... You... An Officer Rank...!" His shocked voice was mixed with coughing and couldn't be heard clearly. Bosain's head was on the brink of explosion. "So you had another artifact? And a charm artifact at that?" Noah lazily moved his hand. 

*Woosh* Another mana slash went forth, cutting off Bosain's right arm! "Argh! Wait! Your Excellency, please wait!" Bosain put up with the pain and shouted. "Why should I?" Noah asked, steadily getting closer, all the while using his pressure on Bosain. He didn't know if Bosain still had a trick up his sleeve.

While Bosain and Jayden fought, Noah used the time to focus on meditating to restore as much mana as he could. Although he didn't sit cross legged, as long as he emptied his mind the effect would still happen, although weaker. 

That's why he pretended to be a scared youth, so that he would gain some time. Right now, Noah had recovered up to 50% of his mana! Even if there were a hundred Bosains and Jaydens he could kill them easily! 

*Woosh!" "Argh!" Bosain groaned in pain as his left arm was now gone too. "W-wait! This was just a misunderstanding! I didn't mean to actually..." Bosain desperately tried to find some way to survive. 

He lost all of his trump cards, his artifact was destroyed, and he was up against an Officer Rank Mage. He couldn't even threaten Noah with his grandfather as the Prime Minister was also an Officer Rank.

He could only somehow negotiate. He ignored the humiliation of having to bow his head to someone but his life was more important. He was also cursing at Jayden the entire time. 

[Fuck! Jayden, you disgusting bastard! How in your right mind could you have brought someone like this here?! I hope you burn in hell for this!] "Didn't you say it yourself? "The inheritance of the Great Warlock Cadeus is too important. I cannot allow the possibility of you leaking any information." I completely agree, Bosain." 

Noah placed his hand on Bosain's face, and Bosain's expression turned ashen. "I... I can't die like this! I am Bosain, the heir to the Wordsworth Family! I... can't..." 

Bean sized tears began falling down his cheeks. His death was imminent, and he couldn't do anything to save himself. "Soulsearch." Noah lightly said. 

In that moment, Bosain felt pain beyond anything he ever experienced. Noah's mana sense easily entered his mind and began pulling out his memories, from his birth up to now. His entire life flashed in front of his eyes, and he could only lightly tremble as blood began pouring out of his orifices. 

The last thing Bosain saw before his death was color red. "Alright now!” Noah stood up and patted his hands, his eyes showing an unspeakable amount of desire. He didn't forget to first loot a small potion bottle in the shape of a heart from Bosain's corpse. 

“Right now, the only thing left is the inheritance of the Great Warlock Cadeus!” The transparent small shield always surrounded Noah's body. With a face full of wariness, he crossed over many fallen shelves and came to the centre where the study desk was. 

On the study desk, there was a black box. On it was a few thin patterns, as if formed by little snakes. Noah took out his skull cross artifact and focused the shield on his right arm. 

*Pa!* The lid of the black box was opened. However it exceeded Noah’s expectations and nothing happened. In the box was a thick, black book. As for the other empty areas in the box, it was filled with a type of red silk, looking extravagant.

Noah picked up the book. *Ka-Cha!* A mechanical sound reverberated throughout the room. “Hm?” Noah looked at the bottom of the interior of the box after taking the book and was somewhat stupefied.

At the bottom, where after the black book was removed, an ancient language sentence was written in cursive font. “Inheritor! When you take away this ‘Book of Blood Synthesis’, the whole secret plane will self-destruct within 3 hourglasses worth of time.”

This row of words was written in blood and seemed extremely striking. “What exactly was this Great Warlock Cadeus trying to do?” 

Noah’s thoughts rapidly spun. The 3 hourglasses worth of time was enough for him to find an exit and even farm some of the flowers in the garden before leaving.

“No! Not right. Too easy! There’s something wrong!” Noah hurriedly flipped open the Book of Blood Synthesis. The whole book was extremely thick and was written in tiny characters. It was even written in code. If it was any other person, he would most likely not be able to even finish reading the preface of the book before the time of 3 hourglasses was up.

However, Noah was different. He flipped through the Book of Blood Synthesis in a frenzy. He only had to see everything once to memorize it, and then digest it. In less than the time of half an hourglass, Noah already flipped through the Book of Giant Serpent once.

“It isn’t there! There is no information about any bloodlines!” Noah realised this crucial point. He found 667 pages of travel notes, 78 experiment notes, 12 Officer Rank spell models, 3 General Rank spell models, all for the spells of the Poison Element. 

For a Poison Element Mage this could be considered a good haul, but for Noah that was useless. After 5 minutes, Noah’s face turned even more unsightly.

“I estimate that I need 5 minutes to leave this place. Which is to say, the time left for me to search is only 6 more minutes! I have to leave before that!”

Although Noah wanted the information on bloodlines badly, he valued his life more than the technique. He released his mana sense and looked around frantically. “The study desk is okay! No problem with the chair! Oil painting, oil painting!”

Noah stared fixedly at a most suspicious-looking oil painting. Apart from a mysterious emblem, there was nothing else on that canvas. “Eh?!”

At this moment, Noah discovered a tiny object within his robes radiating heat. He reached in and withdrew a cheap yellow bronze ring. 

This ring seemed to be extremely average — there was even some scratches and rust on it. Inscribed on the surface of the ring was the letter ‘K’, which seemed to represent the emblem of some organisation or a name.

“This is… the ring that was obtained from the lab!” Noah thought about the origins of this ring.

Back when he was in Cold Wind Fortress, after searching the lab of the Great Warlock Cadeus, he found a corpse in from of the villa. This ring was found on the corpse. Noah thought that it might eventually come in handy, but never did he expect it to be now. 

Noah stroked the yellow bronze ring on his finger. The closer he walked to the oil painting, the more heat the ring emitted. Moreover, there was even light emitting from the letter ‘K’.

*Ka-Cha!* *Ka-Cha!* On the bottom area of the oil painting, part of it fell, revealing an empty hole which had the ‘K’ symbol, the same as the ring.

Noah fitted the ring in the gap! *Bang!* Both sides seamed tightly, and a strange energy wave radiated from it. The oil painting was now gone, replaced by a hole. 

In the hole, there was the space of a small cabinet. In it was a cage that was made of lightning. Noah gritted his teeth and looked at the decreasing amount of time, immediately reaching his hands to it.

*Bang!* An ancient voice suddenly sounded in Noah’s brain. “The test has begun. Begin to portray this spell formation within 30 seconds!” A yellow, illusory figure, formed by the spell, appeared in front of Noah.

“There is even a spell?” Noah was now convinced that this Great Warlock Cadeus was a sadist. Under the circumstances of the secret plane collapsing, he even intended for the inheritor to complete a test!

Moreover, even if it was a basic spell model, it would at least require several hours of time. 30 seconds? He’s plainly toying with others! Luckily for Noah, he wasn't an ordinary person. He quickly went at it and before 30 seconds were up, he managed to complete the assignment.

"Construction completed; next test. Within 30 seconds construct this spell formation!” This time, it was a blue formation. Noah rolled his eyes and continued to use his brain to the best of his abilities.

Afterwards, it was the third spell formation, black coloured. This time, the required analysis surpassed Noah’s expectations. Right before the 30 seconds timer was up he then managed to complete the formation.

“Will it end now?” Noah thought after finishing the third formation.

However, at this moment, the yellow, blue and black formation in his brain began to converge suddenly.

*Ka-Cha!* After the 3 spell formations instantly merged, it turned into a scarlet coloured spell formation. On the surface, it was filled with many mysterious runes.

*Sssii!* The lightning behind the oil painting seemed to have been attracted to him and entered Noah’s body immediately.

“My inheritor! You must have the courage and wisdom, be astute and filled with knowledge. Only then, can you break through the shackles of mortality, and become unburdened by this world!” That ancient voice sounded once again in Noah’s mind. Following which, Noah felt that his brain was stuffed with a load full of information.


	55. Chapter 55

"You will now learn everything, from the beginning of my ambition to it's end... What are bloodlines? This question is a strange one..." Noah didn't have the time to sort out the information inside his head because he only had around 5 minutes to exit the secret plane. Of course, before leaving he quickly grabbed Jayden's artifact.

After walking away from the study room, he found himself inside the Hanging Gardens where there was every kind of flower blooming.

Noah did not think any further and reached out to grab the few most precious flowers, including the Liquid Sun Poppy, and placed it in his spatial ring. He did not stop his footsteps and directly dashed out from the Hanging Gardens.

After running through the metal passage, Noah once again returned to the cave where the corpse of the chimera snake lay. 

"Something’s not right, there is something missing!” Noah ran to where the black snake was. His right hand glowed with the defense of the skull cross artifact and as he traced the opening of the wound he ripped open the stomach and pulled out a scarlet heart out from it.

As the handling of such ingredients was troublesome, Bosain and the rest had decided to retrieve it only when they were prepared to leave.

"There is no more time!” Noah counted the remaining time in his head and immediately chanted an ancient incantation. “Starier Guderian!”

This was the password recorded in the Book of Blood Synthesis for leaving the secret plane. A pity that with the destruction of the secret plane, this time, there was no other chances to use it in the future. 

After the chant, Noah was enshrouded in lightning and immediately disappeared from the cave. On the top of a cliff, a few flashes of lightning formed, taking the form of a spell formation.

A brown haired youth's illusory image slowly turned into real substance among the lightning and landed on the cliff. “I am finally out!” Noah looked at the void which was constantly emitting energy waves, his expression complicated.

This was the influence of a secret plane self-destructing in the main world. It was extremely weak and extremely difficult to discover.

However, Noah was clear that the Hanging Gardens, and everything inside it was now wiped off from the face of this world. “A pity! So many resources and precious herbs….”

Noah looked down at the energy wave of the void which was slowly vanishing, and he felt a great pity about it. After all, that was the secret plane of a Magistrate Rank Mage!

Just the various flowers and herbs in the Hanging Gardens could fetch the price of several millions of magic crystals. Moreover, there had been copious quantities of herbs in there. 

"Fortunately, it’s not like I don’t have any gains!” Noah looked at the few stalks of herbs tightly gripped in his hands, his expression relaxing a little.

On his hands, there were several rare herbs, all of them beautiful and eye catching. “There is one more — Book of Blood Synthesis!” Noah touched the sturdy black book in front of him.

Although it was just something the Great Warlock Cadeus placed outside to conceal the information hidden within the oil painting, its price was still extremely precious.

In the Book of Blood Synthesis, there were the travel notes of the great Magus Serholm with the drawings of a few precious items, which could enhance Noah’s knowledge. Moreover, many experiments were also explicitly stated in detail, which allowed Noah to benefit from it.

Any one item on this book, once leaked, will only result in one outcome for Noah. That is to be listed as wanted by all the organisations on the continent!

Even the court Mages and Saints of the Church of Light who are at Magistrate Rank will stop at nothing to hunt him down. The reason was simple; no one wants the Blood Severance Era to repeat itself. 

Just thinking of that outcome, Noah already felt a headache. At the same time, he resolved to conceal everything he had gotten in this expedition. 

"Since I have already decided!” Noah’s eyes flashed and looked at the few struggling prisoners behind him.

They were captured by Bosain, used as guinea pigs to test the mechanisms of the secret plane. Furthermore, they were all bound so they weren't able to escape.

He did not know how long he stayed inside the secret plane. Only that from what Noah saw, these few people were already on the verge of death. If he were to come out a little later, it would just be a few more corpses that he would see.

Noah began grabbing them one by one, taking some of their blood before throwing each of them off the cliff. *Pa Pa!* Not long after, there was the slight yet heavy noise which travelled to Noah’s ears.

“Not only that, the stone blades at the bottom must be destroyed, the corpses must also be gotten rid of with some potions.”

Noah muttered and took out Jayden's badge artifact. He used the vines to make a staircase for him and made his way down. When the moon was high in the sky, the blue constellations shone brightly. Only then did Noah return to the cliff.

"Alright, that should be enough. Now, I need to find a good place to digest all the information in full." When Noah thought about his future developments, he slowly relaxed his muscles.

“Lets see, Bosain and the other two joined in halfway while travelling. According to Jayden, Bosain even hid it from his family. Which is to say, the Wordsworth Family would only know that Bosain was dead, yet they did not have any idea where he had gone to or who were the people he had met. This is the best possible scenario!”

As for Jayden’s disappearance? Noah didn't care at all. Jayden was just a bastard child of a Marquis. Even if he killed Jayden in front of his family, it was unlikely they would bother trying to get him for that. "Although it's a bit of a pity my identity now has to be scrapped, in comparison to my gains, that is nothing!" 

Noah gave the cliff one final look, before walking away and never turning back. 

......

A few weeks later, in the Wordsworth Family territory, an angry voice shook the entire building. "Where is my grandson?! How come you don't know?!" Extreme wrath was detected in this voice, and waves of his voice reverberated throughout the manor.

In the air, there were even many energy waves seen with the physical eye. A rush of horrifying energy wave continuously radiated from the room.

Many manservants and maids on the corridors immediately knelt on the ground, their bodies quivering in fear. This included the person who was being yelled at by the owner of the voice. "Father, please calm your anger. Bosain, he... we believe that he could have left of his volition..." 

Bosain's father was currently kowtowing on the ground and shaking in fear. He was scared that his father, the Prime Minister, would kill him right away for Bosain's sake. There was also a bit of joy, but he hid it to the best of his ability. 

"So you have no clues, just speculations?! Trash!!! How could have I had a son like you! Not only are you talentless, you're also useless!" The Prime Minister was fuming. 

"Call Kleiter here, if he is unable to find out the truth, I will punish and send him to confinement within the Crystal Mines for a hundred years!”

The atmosphere turned gloomy, and the cold wind howled. Not long later, fine raindrops splattered on the ground, giving a damp and icy feeling. 

......

Noah closed his eyes and reviewed the information he gathered from the oil painting. He was currently back in Great Warlock Cadeus's lab, the only place he knew he would have peace and quiet. 

Before the information of the process, there were several other notes which introduced the existences of Mages in the ancient past who had advanced to be Warlocks!

These so-called Warlocks were a unique kind of Mages. Through devouring, copulation or some other methods, they would obtain the bloodline of powerful magic creatures. Moreover, they would continuously tap into the power within.

Furthermore, according to the legends, Warlocks have a greater innate talent in spellcasting and they completely surpassed a regular Mage of the same rank.

However, if Warlocks were that strong, they would have long since controlled the entire continent and not have that many Mage guilds around.

First of all, Warlocks are on the path of bloodlines. Along with the passing of time and the reproduction of seeds, the descendants of these Warlocks will often see a thinning of bloodline, losing the replenishing effect from the bloodline origins. Just this point alone caused the Warlocks to become few in numbers. 

Furthermore, a large number of Warlocks had an extremely troublesome malady—Emotions! The Eukris continent was represented by reasoning. However, due to the effects of the bloodline, Warlocks often suffer from extreme emotional states and were likely to go to the extremity of any emotion.

Obviously, such a disposition was difficult for Warlocks to survive a long time in this continent with the law of the jungle.

"How interesting." Noah commented. He himself did not need to worry about this problem too much. It was because, in his past life, he had tried to sever his emotions! 

He set up an Emotion Severance Ritual when he was a General Rank Mage, intent on completely removing his emotions. Unfortunately, just when the ritual was about to succeed, his enemies attacked him and interrupted the ritual. 

The ritual was considered a failure, as Noah only managed to cripple his emotions, not sever them entirely, although he was still satisfied that his rational thinking wasn't impaired by useless emotions. Right now, his emotions would only show in rare times. "That should be enough to negate the effects of being a Warlock." 

Another problem a Warlock faced was the bloodline restriction. A Warlock is limited in his progression by the type of bloodline he inherits. If he inherits a bloodline from a General Rank creature, then that Warlock's future progress can at the maximum be the General Rank, regardless of the Warlock's inmate talent.

In Noah's case, the chimera snake had at least the Rank of a General. Which is to say, even if Noah had finished the cultivation for it, he would advance to the maximum of a General Rank Warlock, a little more powerful than a General Rank Mage. 

However, Noah was displeased; he wished to cultivate to the realm of a God! Even if he received the bloodline of a Sovereign Rank creature, he would still reject it. 

Noah decided that he was not going to become a Warlock after all and continued researching the information. 

The next information he read was pertained to Great Warlock Cadeus's life. "I have always been unsatisfied with the world. Although it appears huge, it is in fact a prison. Every day I spend here is stifling. I was bored with my mortal, ordinary life." 

"My boredom grew daily. An ordinary mortal's life is incredibly simple. Work and work, marry some girl your parents decide for you, have children, work more and then die. The only pleasure you could have would be getting drunk. I hated alcohol. I hated my life." 

"One day, when I got sick of it all, I decided to die. I wasn't afraid at all, surprisingly. I was actually looking forward to it. I found a cliff and threw myself off. But what I never would've expected, was that I found the remains of a God!" 

"What?!" Noah was so shocked he almost fell from the chair.


	56. Chapter 56

Noah rechecked the information in his mind dozens of times. "I cannot believe this!" The Great Warlock Cadeus exceeded Noah's imagination. Never in his wildest dreams would he ever think that the Great Warlock Cadeus actually found remains of a God! 

He continued reading, his tempo increasing. "I couldn't believe it when I first saw it. It was a body of a man with long hair, as black as the night! Moreover, the corpse was perfectly intact, it looked as if the man was just asleep. Only later did I find out that it was a dead body." 

Noah's lips began shaking, but he didn't notice. "When I touched the body of the strange man, I received a memory. No, it's best described as a feeling. A feeling that, if I were to drink that man's blood, I would obtain his power!" 

"I did it without a second thought. For the first time, I felt something else apart from boredom. I bit his finger and sucked on his blood. After that, I felt a great wave of power fill my entire being! Information flooded my brain; I somehow knew what my talent and Rank was. By just drinking some blood, I had become a Fire Element Paragon Rank Mage!" 

"How crazy!" Noah was out of his mind. He was certain that he was the only person in the world with this information. Not even the Sovereigns knew anything about Gods, of that he was sure! 

"Later, I left my mortal village and embarked into a new world; a world of Ranks! I had many allies and even more enemies. I realized that my strength was above the ordinary Mages of the same Rank. The world considered me a Warlock, and later I somehow became a leader of the Warlock Alliance."

"But I wasn't interested in ruling the world. What's the difference between being a prisoner and being a king of prisoners if you're still imprisoned? I secretly left the Warlock Alliance along with some of my good friends." 

"In the later parts of my life, I found out about the existence of eleven dangerous monsters who gave me a strange feeling of familiarity; it turned out that those monsters were parts of the dead God who somehow gained sentience and spread across the world!" 

"I battled all of them, and barely won. I drank their blood, and gained the full power of the Evil God! However, it was useless. Although I had it, I couldn't use it fully. The reason was my lack of elements! The truth hit me hard; if one wanted to fully control the Evil God's power, they would have to be a Mage with an affinity for all eleven Elements!" 

"Dissatisfied, I tried to create chimeras using the monsters' genetic material. My goal was to create chimeras of all Elements and possessing the Evil God's bloodline for me to absorb. I had hoped that it would result in me gaining all Elements I needed, but the experiments were a failure." 

"The chimeras I created weren't true descendants, only a subspecies. I gave up soon after. This inheritance I leave behind is my way of continuing my work. I hope that one day someone will succeed at what I couldn't and leave this world successfully. I leave one final gift for you, inheritor."

A spell formation appeared in Noah's mind, interlaced with many mystical runes and magic circles. After that came the instructions on where to inscribe the spell formation; surprisingly, that place was the heart! 

"Hahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The deathly silence of the lab was broken by the overjoyed laughter. "All Element affinity? That's the easiest part!" 

If the Great Warlock Cadeus heard what Noah just uttered, he would most likely rise from his grave and choke him to death. But Noah had all the right to laugh; he had so something no one else had, the knowledge of the future! 

Indeed, 400 years in the future, significant progress will be made in the field of researching special body compositions. The greatest result of that research was the possibility of transplanting body compositions from one person to another! 

That is to say, if Noah transplants a special body composition of any Element to himself, he will be proficient in that Element! "Now, I have to focus on purifying the blood of the chimera snake." 

Noah only gave it a slight thought, and his inner desires began to boil. He pulled out the heart of the chimera snake and bottles filled with snake blood. 

These bottles were most of the blood from the chimera snake collected by Noah. As for its heart, when Noah was escaping from the Hanging Gardens, he had already harvested the precious ingredient from the corpse of the chimera snake.

Perhaps, the Great Warlock Cadeus kept the chimera snake in the cave to allow his inheritor to use its bloodline. However, naturally Noah’s ambition was not only there.

“The possibility is small, but if I can purify the chimera snake's bloodline and obtain the true ancient God's bloodline...” Noah’s eyes spewed fire from it.

Times have changed. During the many years, Alchemy has made great advancements. If Noah lived in the past, he would be unable to purify this blood. Now, it seems that in the aspect of purifying blood, Noah had an enormous advantage over Great Warlock Cadeus.

Although the purification of the bloodline was an extremely precise yet tedious process, this method was the kind that posed the least problem Noah. He only needed time. 

“No wonder the Great Warlock Cadeus had laid the test of horrifying calculation and analysis ability as his final test to obtain the inheritance. To Warlocks with a strong ability for calculations, they can research on the bloodlines and unearth the power within!”

Noah stopped wasting time and placed his Alchemy equipment on the table. "Let us begin!” Afterwards, Noah spent his day inside the lab.

Under the stupendous microscopic ability of his Sovereign Rank mana sense and consultation from the Book of Blood Synthesis, the progress of bloodline purification was rather smooth.

Three days later, Noah looked at a crystal test-tube with an engrossed expression. Inside the test-tube, a layer of pitch black fluid had already occupied more than half the space within. Moreover, there was effervescence in it, continuously emitting tiny bubbles, as if having its life.

"This is from all the essence from the chimera snake, adding on to the special blood purification apparatus using the heart as a primer. After the microscopic abilities of my mana sense coupled with magic spells to continuously purify it, I have finally obtained half a test-tube of this ancient bloodline!”

A dreamy expression could be seen on Noah’s eyes as he muttered. Just by holding onto the test-tube, Noah felt a tremendous force continuously emitting from the test-tube, radiating out to its surroundings.

"So this is the bloodline of a God!" Noah was overjoyed, although he found it a small pity that he wouldn't be able to use the bloodline immediately. The chimera snake from before used a Shadow Element skill, this meant that it's Element was Shadows, not Fire.

Although after transplanting the bloodline, the Warlocks would naturally add on the elements of the ancient creature, it was definitely the best to have their innate affinity to be compatible with the ancient creature, which Noah doesn't have.

Even after changing bloodlines, the original qualities of the magician’s body were extremely important. It was decided from the start of birth and was extremely difficult to change in the future. 

"The properties of the chimera snake are currently incompatible with my affinity. However, once I gain the Shadow Element, under those circumstances, it can have a multiplier effect on the my strength, which is also the best part!” 

......

The teleportation ring in East Moon City shined brightly, and a middle aged man exited, followed by five cloaked figures. The man had a small moustache and a grousome scar across his face. The most eye-catching part was an emblem of the Wordsworth Family on his cloak. "We're here." 

The man spoke in raspy voice. "Spread out. Find any clue on the young master. We'll meet in front of the entrance to the Shelly Hotel four hours later." 

"Yes, sir Kleiter." The cloaked figures lightly bowed and spread out. Once they were gone, Kleiter's expression changed. [They won't find him.] He had a gut feeling that young master Bosain was not in this city.

While they were searching for clues about young master's disappearance, they accidentally found out that the second son of the Lilytale Family also disappeared around the same time. [Jayden Lilytale, a child born of a concubine. He felt inferior to his elder brother and wanted to surpass him.]

How was this connected to Bosain? Judging by the young master's behavior, he would not befriend such a lowly person. And yet, they both went missing at around the same time. [I'm missing something. Some detail that is the key to everything.] 

Kleiter thought about it over and over. [The last place Jayden Lilytale was sighted in was here.] "Tch." In front of him stood a beautiful hotel that looked like a work of art. Kleiter disliked the people of the Shelly Hotel. They were very intent on protecting the private information of their guests. 

The interrogation of the Shelly Hotel manager went as he expected. He didn't gain any information, and he looked at Kleiter with disgust when he tried to bribe him. "Dammit!" He was anxious. At this point the Old Wordsworth seriously will send him to work at the Crystal Mines. 

"If only I had something, anything!" Kleiter kicked a pebble on the ground. However, something strange happened in that very moment! 

His eyes muddled and a voice began speaking in his mind. "Xander... Alchemist..." A voice whispered in his mind. It gave off a weird feeling of affection, and Kleiter felt as if he was held in his mother's arms as a boy. 

"Xander, Alchemist..." He repeated the words in a trance. "Xander!!!" "Wah!" Kleiter woke up from his trance and saw his subordinates, the cloaked figures, looking at him in surprise. 

"Sir, are you alright? Did someone offend you?" "You mentioned Xander? Who is that?" Kleiter grabbed his head. He didn't remember how these two words surfaced in his mind, but there was one thing he knew.

"Listen up! Go and find any and all information on an Alchemist called Xander! If you fail, I'll actually kill you!" The cloaked subordinates looked bewildered, but still obeyed their orders. A few hours later, the subordinates returned. 

"Sir, we found something! Xander is a new genius Alchemist in the making, he originated from the Cold Wind Fortress." Kleiter felt that the answer was in front of him. He immediately used the teleportation ring and traveled to the Cold Wind Fortress. 

Soon after, he was standing in front of a famous Alchemist, Matilda. "Your Excellency, we need your help." Kleiter respectfully bowed to the old woman. "Hmm, you want to speak to Old Man Solomon? If you want Alchemy services, wait until next year." Matilda waved her hand as if shooing them away.

"No, no, your Excellency misunderstands." Kleiter smiled politely. "We are looking for a young Alchemist named Xander. We heard he lives here." 

"Oh? Well, he was here to say his goodbyes a month ago. I'm afraid you missed him." Kleiter's expression turned for the worse. "Oh, I see. Do you perhaps know if he traveled to East Moon City before?" 

"East Moon City? Hmm..." Kleiter let the old woman think in silence, not daring to make a peep. "Now that you mention it, I do believe Old Man Solomon bragged about finding the boy a job with some noble brat." 

Kleiter almost jumped. "Cough, could it perhaps have been a member of the Lilytale Family?" "Oh yeah, it was. I remember now." Matilda answered. "Kleiter was all smiles now. He respectfully bowed to Matilda and paid mana crystals for wasting her time. 

Outside, he jumped in delight. "Finally! I have a lead to finding the young master! I won't be going to the crystal mines!" He ordered his subordinates to send a message back to the Prime Minister. 

At that moment, Kleiter fell in a trance again. "Sir Kleiter?" His subordinates looked at him with confusion. Kleiter stood still for a few minutes. When he awoke, his face contorted in fury! 

"Lab... Mountains!" He ran like a deranged animal outside the Black Market. He kept his tempo, ignoring the calls from his subordinates. He ran out of the Cold Wind Fortress. His goal was the lab deep inside the mountains!


	57. Chapter 57

Noah was now in the villa's guest room. The room was now empty, and the only source of light were small fireballs that stood in the corners of the room. Moreover, there was a layer of a mysterious spell   
formation inscribed on the floor.

These runes were writhing as if they were made of little snakes, as they continuously headed towards the scarlet red light. The light crisscrossed, forming a spell formation. "The bloodline transfer formation is finally complete!”

Noah massaged his temples, and an excited glow could be seen in his eyes. “Now to inspect it for any mistakes." He released his mana sense and began observing every small part of the formation. 

This concerned Noah’s future, so he had to be particularly cautious. Noah had confirmed that everything was in order and that he had not missed anything, but did not, however, begin to rush through with the ritual. 

First, he placed noise cancelling spells all around the villa. Next, he took out the demonic spellbook and called out Niolo. "Finally I'm outside. What do you need, Noah my friend?" Niolo was naturally informed about everything Noah went through, although Noah kept the detail of a God's bloodline to himself. 

"I'm going to start the ritual soon. I need you to protect the lab. If anyone comes here, kill them." A cruel smile surfaced on Niolo's face. "Don't you worry, Noah my friend. No one will disturb you." 

Finally, Noah sealed the villa away and returned to the empty guest room. After giving the formation one final check, a resolved expression appeared within Noah's eyes.

“Let us begin!” Noah took off his clothes and threw them aside. He also removed the meat jelly artifact, revealing his true appearance. He was stark naked as he walked towards the centre of the scarlet formation, sitting down on the ground.

Noah picked up a dagger, the tip of the blade giving off a sharp coldness to it. His expression was indifferent as he cut himself on his body. *Pu!* Blood gushed out.

His expression was unchanging, and the hand that held the dagger did not quiver. In a mysterious sequence, the dagger began to cut all over his body.

Every time the dagger drew across Noah’s body, it would leave a bloody wound from where blood continuously dripped. 

At the very end, from his stomach to his forehead, there was a mystical triangular shaped rune on Noah’s body. The blood that poured forth continuously from his skin looked extremely eerie and mysterious.

*Plip plop!* *Plip plop!*

The blood that flowed down from his body hit the floor, but it left no trace as it was sucked into the formation. *Bang!* Under the influence of the blood, the scarlet spell formation radiated a dozen times brighter.

The powerful flash of light brought forth a strong energy wave, which continuously radiated to the four walls of the villa.

At this moment, on the four walls of the villa, magic circles began to absorb the energy waves that leaked from the spell formation.

The scarlet coloured formation turned brighter and brighter, before finally engulfing the entire room. In this blood red world, a layer of black smoke suddenly appeared, continuously changing shape in midair.

“Abiding by the ancient contract, my strength will now be that of the bloodline! After seeing the black shadow, Noah moved his lips and chanted in an ancient language.

*Weng Weng!* After Noah had chanted the incantation, the thick black smoke attached itself to Noah’s body, and the triangular shaped wounds began to gleam in a grim black light.

Noah shivered as an extremely strange iciness began to charge to his nerves. After it had frozen to the extremes, a burning sensation seemed to set all of the cells on his body ablaze.

Inside of Noah's body, a magical formation began inscribing itself on his heart. Scarlet red runes etched themselves on the heart as the organ itself was surrounded by eleven blue magic circles! “It’s now!”

Noah picked up the crystal test tube containing the God's bloodline and poured the pitch black blood on his wounds.

The pitch black blood landed on Noah’s body. It began to wiggle, as if having its own life, and turned into an innumerable amount of little snakes that drilled through Noah’s wounds.

Horrifying pain assulted Noah, but he didn't twitch even once. An extremely frightening agony constantly grated on his nerves, even turning his vision blurry. And yet, he was calm. Noah closed his eyes and fell into deep sleep.

After Noah fell asleep, the red light in the second storey of the villa did not disappear, but gradually became more intense.

Time passed, and very soon, it was the morning of the second day. The scarlet light grew stronger, and even the blue magic circles on the wall produced creaking noises as if they were unable to endure any longer.

*Ping Pang!* With sounds like the shattering of glass, the blue magic circles were finally dispersed and the red light shone through the walls and onto the villa beside it.

"As expected of that guy, he really is full of surprises." Niolo noticed the scarlet light and observed it calmly. A shiver passed through him as he thought about Noah's behavior these past few days. 

"Crazy bastard." Noah was smiling happily, but to Niolo that smile was anything but a pretty sight. To him it looked like he was seeing his father smile whenever he thinks of doing something to relive his boredom. 

"Hm?" Niolo noticed a newcomer. Actually, several newcomers, all Paragon Rank. One of them ran in front with a furious expression while others were running behind him while yelling at him to stop. "What are they doing?" 

A vicious smile formed on his face once he realized that the newcomers were running towards the lab. "Hehehe, since you want to come here, don't expect to survive!" 

"Trash! Entertain me with those worms!" Niolo sent a telepathic message to a certain creature. At the same time, Kleiter ran straight towards the Great Warlock Cadeus's lab. He had no idea where he was going, but for some reason he didn't question it. 

He just knew that Xander was there. The moment he even thought of the name Xander, his anger increased exponentially. "Lab... Mountains... Xander!!!" "Sir Kleiter, what are you doing?! Stop already!" 

"Sir, we will be forced to stop you with force! Please don't force us!" Kleiter's subordinates ran after him, debating over whether to report this incident to the Prime Minister. As all things stood, Kleiter had gone crazy. 

"What the hell is wrong with him? Being sent to the Crystal Mines can't be that ba-" One subordinate's thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar. "Groooaarr!!" 

What appeared in front of the party of Mages was an ugly, bald creature with a huge mouth on it's stomach. At the shock of seeing the creature, even Kleiter stopped in his tracks, although still remaining in a trance.

"That's-" "A demon!!!" Kleiter yelled in pure anger, the intensity of which surprised his subordinates, and threw himself at the low rank demon. "Shit, why is a demon here!" "Nevermind, it's a Paragon Rank, we can take it on!" "Kill it!" The Mages began their battle against the creature formerly known as Targar, while Niolo enjoyed watching from the sidelines.

......

Noah slowly opened his eyes. "Did I succeed?" He could feel an intensifying strength under his skin. Moreover, his magic power had significantly increased from before. "Oh?" Noah looked at his body. From his arms to his legs, Noah's body was now full of muscles. 

The power that he felt from inside to outside continuously emanated throughout his toned body. "There is actually such a great increase, no wonder I feel different. Even my physical figure has been enhanced and my strength has increased!”

Noah clenched his fist and punched, emitting a shrill air explosion in the air. “Right now my body is not inferior to that of any Paragon Rank creatures!” This revelation surprised him. Usually, no matter what kind of a Mage you were, you could only have a body of this toughness if you trained as a Warrior. But Noah was clearly a Mage, and yet his body was equivalent to a Paragon Rank Warrior? 

"A God's bloodline is truly miraculous." Noah looked at his chest. The appearance did not change much, only that his skin looked glossier. His abs were well defined, yet not too protruding, maintaining a fine balance. 

"Hm?" As he was inspecting his body, Noah noticed that his hair was now longer. Before, it was a short brown hair, but now his hair tumbled down his shoulders and reached his waist. Moreover, his hair was now pitch black! "Interesting." As he was putting on his clothes, Noah looked around.

The villa around him was now rubble. The magic circles failed to absorb the magic waves from his body and the shockwaves destroyed the surroundings. At the same time, he could feel a battle in the distance. 

Noah exerted strength and made a deep impression on the ground. His body then turned into a dark flash and left the area with a speed several times faster than before. 

In just a flash, he was already outside. "Demon!" "Sir Kleiter, we've almost got it!" Out in the snow, Kleiter and his subordinates were fighting against a low rank demon Targar. The demon was filled with many injuries, most of them deep, but it still fought just as viciously. 

Legs of one of Kleiter's subordinates dangled from the demons huge mouth. A little further away, a second corpse lay, dying the snow red. "Dammit, die already!" Kleiter was filled with many small wounds as he continued to ruthlessly punch the demon. 

"Groooaarr!" The demon groaned one last time as it's body fell to the ground, disgusting liquids and pus flowing out. "Haah, haah... Finally!" Kleiter and his subordinates cheered at their victory. They lost two of their allies, but they didn't care much for the dead.

"What do we do now, sir?" Kleiter looked at his remaining subordinates. They were all injured and bleeding, and one of them even lost an arm. Kleiter himself wasn't in better condition. "There's no way we can go after Xander like this. We'll return to Cold Wind Fortress and recuperate." 

"Oh, but why so soon? I'm not satisfied yet." A pressure Kleiter never felt before pressed down on him. "Aaarrggh!" His three remaining subordinates were affected more, and under the pressure were squeezed into meatpaste. 

"What the hell..." Kleiter was still under the shock as he just stared at the remains of his subordinates. "Oh well, I had my fun. You should be the boss, so I guess I'll keep you alive for now." With those words, Kleiter fell unconscious.

Niolo floated around the corpses and shot the dead Targar a disgusted glance. "Now, I wait for Noah to come out, who knows when that'll be..." "About ten minutes earlier." Niolo turned around and gawked. "........ Who are you?" 

In front of him stood a completely different person than who he expected. The young man's pitch black and thick hair reached his waist, and he was more muscular than before. His skin appeared pale and lustrous like the Moon. Finally, the most striking part was his eyes; they were dark and deep like an abyss. 

"I guess I do look a bit different." Only when he answered did Niolo figure out the person standing in front of him was Noah; what he also noticed was that his voice now sounded gentle and soothing, like a gentle song. "A bit? A BIT?! I barely recognized you!" 

"Mm. That's the boss? Allow me." Noah bypassed the confused demon soul as he placed his hand on Kleiter's head. "Soulsearch." Rows of information entered Noah's mind. A minute later, a deep frown appeared on his face.


	58. Chapter 58

"How very strange." Looking through his memories, Noah saw how Kleiter found him. What he found strange was that Kleiter's memories of how he got to know that he was the alchemist Xander didn't exist. It's as if these words just surfaced in Kleiter's mind, and the man instinctively knew what to do.

The more worrying part was how Kleiter suddenly started running in the exact direction of the Great Warlock Cadeus's lab and didn't question it. It was almost as if he was controlled. 

[But that's not possible. If he was controlled, there should still be some memories about who did it, but there's nothing. Not even Sovereign Rank Mages can achieve a feat such as this.] Noah thought of the one being who could do something like this, but he wasn't sure. 

In the end, he decided to let things play out as they were. He wasn't sure of anything, so there was no use in worrying too much. He rather focused on the changes he experienced. "Let's see how my body holds up." He began running in laps to test out his durability.

“I am almost used to the familiarity of my physical body, but I wonder what kind of innate spell did I obtain?”

After a long run, Noah casually punched the air a few times. After having some understanding of his reinforced body, he shifted his thoughts to other matters. 

An innate spell was something a Mage achieved only upon breaking through to General Rank. They would reconstruct the rune pattern in their mind and create their own unique innate spell, which was every Mage's trump card. 

Warlocks were different, however. Their innate spells formed immediately upon their advancement into a Warlock, regardless of their Rank. Their innate spells would always be the same as their bloodline origin's. 

Since Noah absorbed the bloodline of the Evil God, he would understandably receive the same innate spell that the Evil God himself had. 

He looked inside his mind, observing the rune pattern he created when he was breaking through to Paragon Rank. Right now, the originally blue rune pattern was now red, and it branched out into two smaller patterns. 

Two innate spells! That’s right! There were two innate spells! Concerning Warlocks, in the process of forming their innate spells, there was another scenario that could happen. 

That only occurs when the blood essence of the bloodline was extremely rich, almost the same as the origin of the bloodline. In such circumstances, there would be an additional innate spell.

"Interesting." Noah was greatly pleased. After seeing the two new patterns, almost instinctively, Noah knew the details of his own innate spells. Shadow Armor... and... Eye of Petrification! 

[Eye of Petrification: A petrifying gaze will be emitted from the eyes, temporarily petrifying a target of the same Rank. For more powerful beings, they would become rigid temporarily!]

[Shadow Armor: a layer of shadows will form around the caster, instantly providing a layer of defense!] "These two innate spells, one is for offense, and the other is for defense. When I gain the Shadow Element, my abilities will be considered excellent among Mages of my Rank.”

Noah estimated his might calmly. "Hey Noah!" Niolo flew around him bewildered. "How come you look so different now? Is that a benefit of being a Warlock?" Noah nodded. "In legends, not only did Warlocks have powerful spells and physical bodies, each and every one was a handsome man or a beauty." 

"You can now get women by just walking around. I envy you; if only I had a physical body in this world, I wouldn't fall short when compared to you." Noah scoffed in disgust; the only thing that was on this demon's mind was sex and torturing humans.

"If you want a body, I'll give you one, but don't pull me into your activities." Niolo looked at Noah with confusion. "You can? How are you gonna do that?" Noah pulled out a magic device out of his spatial ring. 

A red light blinked on the device; someone was calling. "Yes?" Noah pushed a button and spoke into the device. After some static noise, a familiar voice was heard from the other end. "I'm afraid I need some help." 

"What do you want, Robert Donell Jr.?" Robert waited for a few seconds before continuing. "It appears that your dear sister is rather against me. Some of my subordinates have ended up dead these days. I figured that it would be easier to send you to take of the problem instead of asking for help from my other "allies"." 

Noah remembered the assassin dressed in black whose memories he obtained. He now knew exactly who he was dealing with, and truthfully, he wasn't too eager to antagonize them. "I'm afraid that I can at most send a warning. I hope you didn't thoroughly made them your enemies, otherwise I can't help you." 

Robert was stunned, as it took him a few moments to answer. "You mean, even an Officer Rank like you isn't confident in getting rid of them?" Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose as he answered. "They have five General Ranks." On the other side, Noah could hear the sound of something breaking, most likely a glass.

"What?! You're not kidding with me, are you?" Robert asked in a quieter voice. "No. Now tell me, what did you do to get her so angry at you?" Realizing that Noah was telling the truth, Robert's tone changed to a serious one. "I've been trying to get your younger brother on my side with a help of a few "methods". Your sister seems to be suspicious of me, and I imagine that this was a warning of sorts." 

"I see. Nothing serious then. I can solve the problem for now, but you'll have to change your tactic." "Sure. How fast can you arrive?" Noah thought for a moment. "A few days. Also, would you be interested in a partnership?" 

"Huh?" Robert was confused at what Noah was now saying. "I became an Alchemist that can brew mid grade potions. You interested?" Silence ensued on the other side. ".... I don't even... What do you want in exchange?" 

Noah smiled. "Soon enough, there should be an auction in the Black Market. Watch out for the news closely. The moment there are any rumors about a dragon egg, attend the auction and buy it for me. Make this your top priority, no negotiating." 

"A dragon egg?! You're going to make a contract with it?" Robert sounded surprised at Noah's ability to gain information. "Of course not, I need it for something else. Also, if you can, try and find any person who behaves strangely when using magic. Look for people who look normal but have seizures or nausea with regular fainting. For any person you find, I'll owe you one favor." 

"That sounds oddly specific, but what you said is tempting. I'll take your word for it. Alright, I'll be expecting you. Goodbye for now." Robert ended the call, and Noah returned the device to the spatial ring. 

"Noah, you said that you're getting a dragon egg for yourself?" Niolo flew in front of him, giving Noah a serious look. "So even you get intimidated by dragons?" "How wouldn't I? Those overgrown lizards are so sensitive to our presence." 

Dragons were a species naturally sensitive to mana and spiritual beings. They could easily find demons or other evil spirits hiding around them, so they were naturally feared by such beings. 

"Don't worry, I don't plan on hatching the egg. Instead, I'm going to exchange it for a certain thing." Noah smiled lightly. "Wait, you mean..." Noah nodded. He was going to return the egg to the original owner. 

In his past life, while he was a member of a Dark Mage organization, Noah managed to achieve a position of a servant to an Elder in the organization. The Elder brought him along to an auction in the Black Market he wanted to participate in. 

One of the items displayed there was a black dragon egg, and it was later bought by an unknown person. Several years after that event, Noah heard that Akhulan Kingdom itself suffered a devastating attack by a Magistrate Rank dragon! 

Noah was planning to return the egg to the dragon and earn the dragon's blessing in exchange. The blessing would give him more proficiency in handling mana, alongside increasing magic power of the dragon's element. 

"But are you going there looking like that?" Niolo answered with a worried expression. As he was now, if Noah entered a city, it was certain that women would throw themselves at him. "Of course not. Me looking like this could attract unwanted attention. I have a solution for this." 

Noah returned to the cave and began setting up another magic formation. Once finished, he stood in the middle of the formation and started muttering in an ancient language. "Deception!" With his final word, the formation shined and enveloped his body. 

As Noah's energy returned to his soul orb, his eyes returned to their normal color, and his hair retracted back, becoming short and brown. There were now no traces of his previous transformation. 

"Let's go." Noah took out a bottle and the meat jelly artifact. A drop of blood fell on the meat jelly, and Noah appeared as an ordinary middle aged man with a small beard. 

......

Wordsworth Family territory. The Prime Minister walked around his room in fury. On the table was a letter from Kleiter, informing him of a young Alchemist named Xander who may have a hand in Bosain's disappearance. 

Kleiter promised that he would find this Alchemist as soon as possible, and yet it's already been five days since then. There was only one answer. Kleiter and his subordinates died. 

The Prime Minister clenched his hand. He was hesitant. Even if he started searching every city, by now Xander must have already hid well. There was only one solution. "I have to visit a Diviner."


	59. Chapter 59

Noah, now as a middle aged man, casually walked out of the teleportation ring. The capital of the Lidour Kingdom looked the same as when he left, and in front of him stood ten knights, all of them Paragon Rank. They guarded a luxurious carriage, and Robert Donell Jr. sat inside with an impatient expression. 

Once the knights saw a ring with a crown symbol, they lightly nodded and got out of Noah's way. It would be strange if they were seen bowing to a stranger in such an open space so they had to refrain. 

"Is that really you?" Robert asked with a bit of surprise. Noah looked completely unrecognizable, even his height changed. "Yes. Let's go." The carriage left the capital and made it's way to the Donell Family territory. 

On the way, Noah asked Robert for news regarding the current state of things. "Let's see." Robert thought as he drank his 6th glass of wine. "The Prime Minister Roland seems to be worried about something. The last time I saw him he had a rather interesting expression on his face." 

[Of course, the King is dying.] Noah nodded. In the future, the reason why Robert's coup even succeeded was because the king died of an illness, leaving behind two sons who began fighting between themselves.

Noah wasn't aware of the details, but he theorized that Robert probably joined one of the two princes and betrayed them when they were at their weakest before grabbing the throne. 

The rest of the nobility were surprisingly perfectly fine with Robert taking control. It was because they were all his allies, somehow tempted to join his side. The only opposing forces were Grand Duke Nicolas, Duke Windway and Prime Minister Roland himself. 

Although, in the end they couldn't stop Robert's rise to prominence. In a single huge battle, Grand Duke Nicolas and his friend Duke Albert Windway died, and Prime Minister Roland apparently committed suicide. 

Noah woke up from his thoughts and continued listening. "I've been gaining more followers among the lower level nobility. To think there were so many useful pawns in the outer parts of the Kingdom..." Robert cackled. 

"But you're probably more interested in those related to you. As I've said before, your younger brother is in quite a depressed state. Well, at least he was. I've been trying to get him on my good side for a while now to no success, thanks to your sister." He grumbled.

"Next, your fiance is still single. I guess she's trying to honor your 'death' for a while. Your father was the worst, though. Day and night, his men keep searching for any kind of Dark Mage activity. They even joined forces with the Church of Light." 

"Luckily for me, this means that my allies are placing more importance to me. Serves them right, hehehe..." "I see." Noah indifferently nodded. He couldn't have cared less about his family, but what was interesting him was Anastasia's state.

When Noah made a deal to brew a potion for her in exchange for ingredients, Anastasia failed to deliver them in time, so Noah stopped caring and left her to fate. 

But now, the situation changed. In order to use the full power of the Evil God's bloodline, Noah had to capture two people during his stay here. One was Anastasia, and the other one was connected to his sister. 

"I need you to go and provoke my sister a bit. Do what you already did, that should be enough." "Hmm, alright. But are you sure that she'll fall for it?" Robert asked. "She will. Also, keep bragging that you found yourself an Alchemist that works for you. I just need her to send at least one assassin after me." Robert nodded and drank another glass of wine. 

......

A few days later, Robert did as as he said and visited the Wimbeldon Family again. He spent time with Timothy, who was now cured of his 'condition' in fear of Elizabeth's retaliation. "Young Lord Timothy, I happen to notice that you look better and better. It appears that your sleepless nights have finally ended." 

"Haha, indeed. One day I just lost the need for that potion, Robert. Although, I do have to thank you for your trouble. You helped me out so much." Timothy smiled innocently. "No no, please Lord Timothy, you're embarrassing me. I didn't do much." 

Timothy now looked different than before. The dark circles under his eyes disappeared and his skin looked healthy again. His disposition was cheerful and more mature. The boy from before was growing into a fine young man. This development took Robert by surprise. 

[How strange. How could he change so much in such a short time? He exhudes a different feeling now, not of a gullible brat but a strong willed youth?] "I must say, Lord Timothy, you appear different somehow. Could it be, have you found a sweetheart for yourself?" 

Robert gave Timothy a sly glance, which made the latter blush a little. "W-what?! N-no, of course not!" Although Timothy negated it, he couldn't stop his lips from slowly curving upward. [He's an open book. Maybe I misjudged him too soon.] 

"Oh my, sir Robert, please don't bully my poor brother anymore. He's still so shy~" A beautiful young woman appeared behind Timothy. Her figure was filled with grace, her skin fair and flawless, and her voice a light melody. 

Her beautiful face was concealed behind a fan, and her seemingly innocent eyes centered at Robert. "No no, how could I possibly, Madam Elizabeth, you must be joking. Hahaha..." Robert felt like he was being observed by a snake, so he 'uncomfortably' laughed, but inside he was fuming. 

[You damn bitch. I won't forget this. I'll make you beg for mercy under this Lord's crotch.] A lustful gleam flashed through Robert's eyes. Although it disappeared a moment later, it was just enough for Elizabeth to notice.

Her eyes showed coldness, but she retracted it a moment later. Now was not time to strike. "Ah, I almost forgot! Lord Timothy, you won't believe me, but I managed to recruit a Mid Rank Alchemist for myself!" 

"Oh?" The siblings expressed their clear interest. Considering that Robert said ''for myself" it meant that the Alchemist wasn't hired by the Donell Family, but him as an individual. "Is that so? Congratulations, sir Robert." Elizabeth praised. "Hehe, it's nothing, I was just lucky. If you're interested, Lord Timothy, I would be more than happy to introduce him to you." 

"I will think about it. Thank you for the offer, Robert." Timothy smiled in gratitude. Robert didn't stay any longer; making up some excuse and leaving. He was satisfied with the result, as he could see the interest in Elizabeth's eyes.

"Hmph, if we're talking about hiding our emotions, you're a hundred years too early to compete with me, cheap slut." Robert cackled to himself. The lustful look was done on purpose. He took out the magic device and pressed the button. "It's done. Everything is on you now."

At the same time, Timothy got up and decided to train again. "You've been getting stronger, younger brother." Elizabeth smiled. If he continued at this pace, it would take Timothy at most fifteen years before getting to the required level to become a Ranked Warrior. 

"Mm. I have to get stronger to support the family in the future. I will make father proud!" Elizabeth watched Timothy leave with a changed expression. [That's right. While you're taking care of the family, I will take care of any outside threats.]

As she looked at the departing carriage, Elizabeth's eyes were filled with calm anger. The grip on her fan increased as she called out. "Emma. Please find out anything you can about that Alchemist. I want him dead." 

The shadow on the wall changed into the shape of a young girl. "Why don't you assassinate that fat pig? Wouldn't that solve the problem?" The girl had black hair and yellow eyes, and she looked at Elizabeth warmly. 

"No. Not yet. I have to question him first. I'll take out all the information about the Hall of Souls out of him before killing him." Elizabeth replied with a serious voice. "You're really planning to go against them?" Emma couldn't help but shiver. 

The Hall of Souls was no small fry. They were one of the worst, most notorious Dark Mages in existence. It was said that they stripped souls from people using dark magic, and would absorb those souls for power. 

In the Mage world, they were the most mysterious faction on the continent. "I don't care about what they do. No matter what, I will avenge my brother's death." Elizabeth turned away and left for her room.

"And I will always support you, my precious friend." Emma muttered to herself as she returned to the shadows, disappearing from the Wimbeldon estate. 

.....

In the Donell Family territory, a middle aged Alchemist was currently celebrating with a table full of liquor and surrounded by several women. He would grab them, grope all parts of their bodies and enjoy their reactions as they melted in his arms. 

"Hahah, what a lucky man I am, to get hired by a Duke Family! Looks like my life will be full of enjoyment!" He drank senselessly as he laughed. 

Behind the Alchemist, a shadow slowly moved back, revealing an assassin dressed fully in black. The assassin looked at the Alchemist with scorn once and slashed at his neck in a one quick move.

"Finally, it took you a long time to arrive." Suddenly, the Alchemist spoke with a completely emotionless voice, as the entire area was enveloped in the pressure of an Officer Rank Mage! "Guh!" The assassin was quickly sent to the ground, unable to offer any resistance. 

Because Noah released his pressure at full power, ordinary people would not be able to endure it, so the girls who sat next to him were all squashed into pools of blood and flesh. 

"Soulsearch." Noah placed his hand on the assassin's head, taking all of his memories. Then, without wasting a moment, he undressed the assassin and put on his clothes, as well as taking a drop of his blood and dropping it on the meat jelly artifact. With a quick signal to the manor's window, he disappeared into the darkness. 

At the same time, the guards annonced the alarm, saying that someone was killed. A day later, Robert came over to Wimbeldon Family estate to whine to Timothy, making sure that Elizabeth was in earshot as well. He left thoroughly 'depressed and angry' which made Elizabeth happy.


	60. Chapter 60

"My sincerest apologies for being late, lady Emma." Noah, now masked as the assassin sent to kill him, bowed to the young girl in front of him, albeit with some difficultly. Emma looked at the injuries on his body he 'sustained' by the guards. 

"Thank you for your hard work. It's good that you're back." Emma sincerely smiled. The assassin revealed a joyful expression as he bowed multiple times. "No no, this much is nothing. Thank you for your care, lady Emma." 

Noah purposefully cut himself on various places on his body so that he could excuse himself not using Shadow Element magic. Right after leaving the Donell Family territory, Noah used the assassin's memories as a guide to the place he was supposed to meet with his superior. 

Noah immediately knew who the girl in front of him is. Introduced by Elizabeth as her maid, she once followed Elizabeth to Hebrion academy where Noah noticed her for the first time. 

In truth, her identity is more complicated than just some assassin. Emma is actually a daughter of one of the five Elders of the Shadow Clan. In the clan, her standing is only below the five Elders, meaning she is akin to a princess in the Clan. 

Apparently, Elizabeth and Emma one day stumbled upon each other as Emma was in outside training. They became friends, and Emma would usually spend a lot of time in the outside world with her friend. 

[But some of the Elders are against Emma associating with a member of the outside world, and are now pressuring her.] The whole situation reminded Noah of those boring novels about two young girls who become friends even though they shouldn't, and then prevale against their problems in the end of the story. Elizabeth constantly read such drivel.

Once Noah stopped pretending to be endeared by Emma, he followed behind her into a small cave. They were currently in the Wimbeldon Family territory, on it's very outskirts. The only place here was a small backwater village. 

[So this is why Elizabeth preferred to spend time here.] The cave was dark, and the two walked for around 10 minutes. Then, once they came to a sudden dead end, Emma pressed a spot in the wall, activating a mechanism that removed the stone wall.

Behind the wall was a small teleportation formation, big enough for one person at a time. "You go first, I'll be right behind." Noah bowed to Emma and listened to her command.

*Paat!* With a shine, Noah was now in a completely different place. It was a small place similar to the cave from before. Apart from the teleportation formation, there were guards stationed around, all of them Paragon Rank. These guards weren't wearing assassin clothes, but armor. 

"Rufus, you've returned! Did Lady Emma give you trouble?" Another assassin dressed in black approached Noah. He had blue hair and green eyes, and a good physicue. He looked rather handsome, and was well known in the clan. [This guy is a friend of 'mine'. He works for the person I need to get to.] "It's been a while, Aug. How did that mission Lady June gave you go?" 

"Oh, you know how my boss is. Strict and cold, but..." Aug leaned in closer and whispered in Noah's ear. "Sexy as hell." Noah put on a bitter smile. "I see. So just the same as always." 

"My friend, do you know how hard it is for me to look at Lady June without noticing those big, juicy, ripe, bags of joy?!" The guards behind Aug put on bitter smiles. This was something usual whenever he's around. 

"But I understand you as well. Lady Emma might not have a developed figure like Lady June, but she most certainly has her own charm! Those legs, for example. And armpits! And that gorgeous petite figure! And-" 

"Bags of joy?" "Armpits?" Aug stopped as if he was shot dead when he heard two female voices behind him. "I greet Lady June and Lady Emma." Noah respectfully bowed to the two girls and moved away from his 'friend'. 

He was successfully ignored by two women who observed Aug with anger and disgust. "Tell me, Aug, what did you say about us just now?" The fury in the girl's eyes only grew bigger. "I-I-I-I didn't say anything..." 

*Bang!* *Pow!* Fists and kicks landed on Aug, launching him outside on the floor. "Aaaahhiii!" Noah used the chance to observe the woman he came here for, June. She was an attractive young woman who somehow seemed incredibly mature.

There was only one way to describe her attire: sexy and extraordinarily enticing. She had long, fair legs, and her rear end was so plump and curvaceous that anyone who saw it would do a double-take. 

The robes she wore were so tight on her voluptuous figure that it seemed as if it might pop off at any moment. In addition to all that, she had long, bright-red hair that made her seem like she was on fire. 

Noah could feel that this young woman was indeed special; she was one of the rare people that grew well alongside their special body composition. The only reason Noah even knew she held a special body composition was because of the memories he gained.

In those memories, June suffered from constant seizures and nausea, an indicator of the presence of a special body composition. One day, her condition became better and better by itself, and she showed unsurpassed talent in the Shadow Element, making her the pride of the entire clan.

[I need to get close to her by herself. And I think I have just the idea.] "And who are you?" A cold voice interrupted Noah's thoughts. He turned around and saw June looking at him coldly. "Lady June, this lowly servant's name is Rufus." Noah said as he bowed 'with difficulty'. 

"He is one of my men. Why, are you getting ideas on stealing him, June?" Emma stood in between the two and looked June straight in the eyes. "Hmph, shouldn't I be the one to say that? Is he another one of your armpit lovers? Well, like that dog Aug said, it's not like you have anything else to offer." June swung her breasts in front of Emma with a smug expression.

"Wha- You cow, don't you compare me to you!" "What did you say, you flat chested gnome?!" Sparks flew around the insults continued. Noah didn't pay attention to them.

He was observing the surroundings with his mana sense. [How smart.] The place he was in right now was actually the Black Forest, one of the continent's forbidden regions, situated in the south of the Lidour Kingdom.

This was a pretty good place to hide a clan. And with five General Rank Elders, the monsters won't bother them. Even in his past life, Noah never heard of these people. 

"Hmph!" "Hmph!" The two girls harrumphed and turned to face Noah. "Rufus, tell me, who would you rather serve, this cow or me?" "Yes, Rufus, tell me, what does this midget have that I don't?" Noah looked at the two with a troubled expression. 

"Your Ladyships, I'm glad that you think of this mere servant so highly, but how could I possibly choose? My life belongs to the clan, you both can use me as you wish." Noah made a deep kowtow and touched the ground with his head. 

This gesture obviously displeased the two, as Noah refused to answer. "Sigh, you can go now Rufus." Emma was the first to stop the 'competition'. "Yes, Lady Emma, I'll excuse myself." Noah stood up and left. "You'll always be welcome as my servant, Rufus. Think about it deeply." 

Noah turned around and bowed once more before leaving. June turned to Emma and looked at her smugly. "You have no chance at winning. I suggest you step down now so that you can still retain your dignity." Emma gave her a glare as she was leaving. 

......

Night fell. Noah avoided the patrolling guards and made his way to a small mountain peak. In front of a small cave stood one guard. Noah approached him and waved. The guard waved back and revealed his face from the darkness.

"You arrived." Aug, who was doing the role of a guard as punishment, whispered. "I hope you have kept your end of the deal." Noah nodded. "Don't worry, I know." Aug smiled at his answer before knocking three times on the door of the cave. 

"What is it?" June's cold voice was heard from within. "Lady June, the person I've told you about is here." Aug respectfully answered, bowing in front of the closed door. "Bring him in. Aug, you're excused." 

"Yes, Lady June." With a bow, Aug left while giving Noah a thumbs up. Noah released his mana sense and observed the inside of the cave. Although on the outside it didn't look like much, inside the cave were five rooms, all of them nicely decorated.

What made Noah smile was that June was alone inside. He opened the door and walked to the guest room. June was sitting inside with a cup of tea on the table. Noah didn't try and take a seat, instead standing close to the door and bowing deeply. 

"Rufus greets Lady June." June nodded. "I heard from Aug that you wanted to change sides. Heh, good choice, Rufus." A smug smile appeared on June's face. "And, you said that you offer precious information on Emma?" 

"Yes, Lady June. It's just..." Noah seemed nervous. "Don't worry, there's no one else here. Speak your mind." The smile didn't leave her face. "Well, it's a very important matter, if I say it, I'm afraid that Lady Emma might even be kicked out of the clan..." Noah still looked like he was struggling.

"Really?" June's voice rose in pitch. "Come on, spit it out! What is it?" Noah looked at the floor as he said it. "I have seen Lady Emma in a man's arms, they've been intimate with each other..." 

"What?!" June got up from her chair in surprise. "You're not lying, are you?!" Noah bowed deeply. "I would never lie to you, Lady June! It's true, I've seen Lady Emma in the arms of a man from the outside world!" 

"Hahahaha! So that's why she always spends time outside, and she has the gall to lie about having a friend in the nobility! Emma, you slut, now I have you!" June was so overjoyed that she started to dance around the room.

"Excellent, Rufus! I'll immediately accept you as my subordinate as your reward! Stay loyal and you won't suffer when I become the next Elder!" June put her hand in front of Noah. 

Noah accepted it and got closer to kiss her hand. "Why thank you." Suddenly, Noah grabbed June's hand and pulled her closer, while at the same time launching a fist straight towards her neck!

*Pow!* "Gah!" June was struck in her neck with incredible force. She couldn't chant spells this way, so her only other option was to use an artifact! She touched her earrings and poured mana in them. In a moment, the earrings shined with a green light, creating a green membrane around her, separating her successfully from Noah.

"Cough, cough..." June hid inside her shield with a look of bewilderment and anger on her face. She just needed to wait for her vocal cords to recover and she'll be able to escape easily with her magic. "Useless." Noah didn't give her the chance, however.

*Swoosh!* A mana blade from an Officer Rank destroyed the green shield like it was paper. June watched on in horror. [This, this isn't Rufus! Who is he?!] She tried to escape in fear of being killed, but Noah was faster. 

Another strike to the throat, and one more to the back of the neck. June fell like a log straight into Noah's arms. Noah took out a magic device out of his spatial ring and pressed the button. "Did you succeed?" Robert Donell Jr. asked impatiently from the other side.

"Yes. Follow the plan, and be careful no one sees you." "Excellent, see you in two hours then." Robert hung up after that. Noah placed June down on the ground, threw a letter on June's table, and took out an artifact he didn't use for some time.

The black metal wires, an artifact that can control anyone like a puppet seamlessly! Noah finally again had a need for this artifact. He attached the wires to June and made her get up quickly. He didn't believe that he defeated June completely silently, there had to have been some noise.

Indeed, just as he finished, one of the guards approached the cave with suspicion. "Lady June, are you alright? I thought I heard some noise around here." Noah made June open the door angrily. "And why should I care about that? You're probably drunk again." She gave the guard a venomous glare, which immediately shut him up and he left.

Noah released his mana sense and controlled June to go exactly where he wanted her to go. While avoiding the guards, and scaring off those who were too close, he finally arrived at the goal. The teleportation formation. 

"We greet Lady June." The guards bowed respectfully. "Mm, I have some business in the outside world for my father. I'm taking him as my servant there." She pointed towards Noah, who now had to reveal himself. 

"Yes, Lady June, but why would 3rd Elder send you into the outside world?" One of the guards asked. "Hmph, why don't you go ask him if he needs your permission?" June answered disdainfully. "Ah, no no, that's not what I meant...." The guard shut up immediately. June's father was pretty much the same as her, he didn't dare be in his presence.

June and Noah were let through with no problem, and the guards even threw Noah a pitiful glance at the end. *Paat!* June appeared first, the distance cutting off the connection between her body and Noah. Noah retracted his black metal wires and appeared next. 

Throwing June over his shoulder, Noah left satisfied. A carriage was waiting for him close to the Wimbeldon Family territory.


	61. Chapter 61

Akhulan Kingdom. The Prime Minister Baltazar Wordsworth sat inside his luxurious carriage, constantly waging his losses and potential gains. In the end, he steeled his resolve and sighed. "As long as I find Bosain, it doesn't matter." 

He looked outside the carriage at his destination. A castle-like building that was upside-down was somehow standing upright. The defensive runes on the surface of the building constantly flickered. This was where the Botelli Family resided. 

Baltazar thought that the look quite suited the family who owned it. "A bizarre castle for a bizarre family." The family in charge of this territory were highly religious and egocentric. 

Even though they owned no territory apart from a couple of kilometers outside the castle and had no cities nor villages under their jurisdiction, the Botelli Family was very popular within the noble social circles in the kingdom.

It was for one reason only: they were a family that would produce a Diviner every generation! Diviners were an almost extinct branch of Mages, with low combat ability, but they are able to predict bits and pieces of the future and past events, as well as find out if there are any people destined for greatness.

For that reason, Diviners are favorably looked upon by the royalty and the rest of the nobles. The only problem with Diviners was that their services were incredibly expensive, to the point that only royalty could afford it multiple times.

The Wordsworth Family carriage arrived in front of the Botelli Family castle. In front of the castle was a butler and an old, shriveled up woman dressed in a pure white gown. In fact, if one looked around, they would notice that all the guards and even the butler wore pure white clothes with not a speck of dirt on them.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, it's such a happy occasion that you visited us." The old woman bowed to Baltazar courteously. "Haha, you're too polite Madam Griselda. I'm happy that you've made some time for this old man." 

"Hohoho, we are all children of the Mother of Peace, no need for formalities." Although she sounded humble, Baltazar could easily tell that the old woman was flattered. A glow in her eyes showed that she saw herself above him, even though she was a pathetically weak Paragon Rank Mage.

Baltazar swallowed his pride as an Officer Rank and a Prime Minister and smiled amiably. [As long as I find Bosain, bowing to this trash is nothing.] "I know why you're here, Prime Minister." 

"I need a divination. Of course, I'm ready to pay." Baltazar said as he touched his spatial ring. Greed surfaced on Griselda's old face, but she quickly changed to a dignified old woman again. "You're looking for your missing grandson, Bosain, correct?" 

Baltazar was stunned. "How-?" "My little Jenna told me this morning. She said that you'll come looking for her, as that is the will of Mother of Peace." Griselda smiled. 

"Then, is it possible to see her right away?" "Of course. Follow me, please." Griselda left the carriage to the butler as she lead the way inside. Baltazar followed behind in silence, merely looking around for a short time.

The inside of the castle was all made with white marble. Everywhere one looked they would see color white. The only exceptions would be windows made of stained glass that showed the creation of the world by the Goddess, among various other legends.

The two of them arrived in front of a grand double door on the second floor of the castle. In front stood two guards with smiling faces. Their smiles only became bigger once they saw Griselda approaching. 

The inside of the room was surprisingly empty; a few bookshelves, a single table and chair and a luxurious bed. On the chair sat a young female Mage in a white cloak, and a necklace strung with pearls and precious stones around her neck. Her appearance was quite ordinary, but on her face, she wore a gentle smiling expression. 

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, welcome." The girl respectfully bowed to Baltazar. In her eyes there was no trace of arrogance, and her movements weren't forced. [She knows her place well.] Baltazar nodded in approval.

"I heard that you already knew about my arrival, miss Jenna?" Jenna nodded. "Yes, Your Excellency. This morning I received a prophecy saying that I will be visited by you because of your grandson's disappearance." 

Jenna stood up and gave her chair to Baltazar. "I'm afraid that my grandson has been kidnapped by someone. The only thing I know is that an Alchemist named Xander is connected to his disappearance." Baltazar sighed while taking out a book out of his spatial ring. "Miss Jenna, I'm in need of your help." 

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to help, Your Excellency." Jenna lightly bowed while holding the book before focusing her eyes on it. Baltazar and Griselda kept their silence so as to not disturb her. "I don’t know why, but I have some premonition that makes me feel cold…” Jenna’s eyes seemed to cloud over. 

Baltazar exhaled a sharp breath. He was thinking of the worst. Jenna looked at the book again, and her eyes turned whiter over time. "I see him! I see a monster, a battle, betrayal, and death! Bosain is dead!" Jenna's words struck Baltazar deep.

He didn't want to believe it, but now he had no choice but to. "I see this man, Xander, he, he killed Bosain easily... He is incredibly strong! But, he isn't Xander actually..." 

"He is, but he isn't! I see something else! This man... this man? What... Nooooooo!!!" Jenna's horrified scream shocked both the Prime Minister and the old woman, alongside alerting the guards outside. She then fell on the floor while spasming.

"Jenna!" Griselda hurried to the girl's side and gently held her in her arms. "Jenna, you're..." Jenna was sweating and shaking, and tears of blood began rolling down her cheeks. "He must die... He must die! Or the Great Destruction shall happen again! The Great Evil will appear again and doom this world to destruction!!" 

With those words, Jenna's eyes rolled upwards and she fell unconscious. "Jenna..." The old woman lied her on the bed and called for the guards. The whole castle fell into an alarmed state. Even Baltazar was shocked, wondering just what did his grandson get himself into. 

And one question always circled his mind: who was Xander really? 

......

At the same time, in the Shadow Clan, a short, round man with a thick red mustache sat in his luxurious cave. "Why is June not here? I told her to see me in the morning last night." He released his mana sense, but in the surrounding 200 meters he couldn't detect her anywhere.

"Hmph, that child, don't tell me she overslept?" The man released his pressure outside, alerting the guards standing in front of the door. One of them knocked on the door with care. "3rd Elder, please command this lowly servant." 

"Notify my daughter to come here." The guard bowed and left while running. Fifteen minutes later, the guard returned with a letter in his hand. "3rd Elder, Lady June wasn't in her cave. I have found a letter on her table. Please take it." 

The 3rd Elder found this weird, but allowed the guard to bring the letter inside anyway. The guard didn't overstay his welcome, leaving the letter on the table and bowing before leaving in silence.

The 3rd Elder opened the letter and began reading it. A few minutes later, a pressure befitting a General Rank Mage spread across the mountain! "YOU DARE!" His thunderous voice spread across the clan territory, and all clan members of Paragon Rank and lower kowtowed on the ground in fear.

Two old men with white beards hurried to his cave. "3rd Elder, please reign in your anger!" Simultaneously, they released pressure of Officer Rank Mages in order to lighten the burden on the surrounding guards. The pressures clashed and sparks formed.

"Don't you dare stop me!" The 3rd Elder broke down his door and ran outside, collecting his strength and jumping on another mountain. At the same time, four other mana senses spread out, observing the 3rd Elder. 

The 3rd Elder landed with a boom, creating a crater. "2nd Elder, get your ass out here right now!" The door of another cave opened, and a woman with black hair and yellow eyes walked out. "3rd Elder, what are you doing? You're creating a disturbance in the clan!" 

"Where is your daughter?! Tell her to come here right now!" The woman coldly snorted. "And why should I? Just because you said so?" Veins popped on 3rd Elder's forehead. "Then I'll just drag her out here myself!" 

"You force my hand!" Both of them already began chanting and releasing their pressures. The mountain was now completely empty, as all the clan members who lived there ran away the moment 3rd Elder landed onto the mountain. 

"Both of you, stop this at once." A cold voice was heard, and the remaining three Elders arrived on the scene. "1st Elder." The 2nd and 3rd Elders lightly nodded in respect. "What is happening here? How did this start?" 

"I don't know, 1st Elder. The 3rd Elder should be the one giving explanations here." The black haired woman glared at the fuming 3rd Elder. "That is true." Everyone turned to face the 3rd Elder. "3rd Elder, I hope you have a good explanation for this." The 3rd Elder calmed down a little after being stared at by the rest of the Elders. 

"Last night, I told my daughter that she visit me in my cave as I had to talk to her. In the morning though, she didn't appear so I sent a servant to bring her over. But instead, my daughter was gone, and on her table was this!" The 3rd Elder threw the letter into the 1st Elder's hand.

"... This is a terrible incident." The 1st Elder commented. "It appears that 3rd Elder's daughter was kidnapped!" The other Elders, including the black haired 2nd Elder, looked stunned at this revelation. "But that can't be! We have Paragon Rank guards stationed in front of the teleportation formation! It would be impossible for anyone to kidnap 3rd Elder's daughter!" 

The previously silent 4th Elder, a figure wearing a cloak, spoke in a hoarse voice. "I'll go and check on the guards." The 5th Elder, a middle aged man with a sword on his back, already jumped away as he talked. 

The other Elders decided to wait for his return and keep an eye on the 3rd Elder. Ten minutes later, the 5th Elder returned while pulling a guard behind himself. "This lowly servant greets the honorable Elders." The guard bowed down as low as he could while shaking in fear. 

"Tell us, did you see anything suspicious last night?" The 1st Elder said sternly. "N-no, 1st Elder. E-everything was peaceful. T-there were no p-problems." The guard didn't dare look the Elder into his face so he stared at the ground. 

"What about my daughter?! Did you see my daughter last night?!" The 3rd Elder interjected. "Eh? Ah, well, apart from that mission Lady June was sent on, I didn't see her at all, I swear!" The guard answered. 

"Mission? What mission? What are you talking about?" The 3rd Elder looked confused, before glancing at others. Other Elders shook their heads. "Wait, are you saying that June told you herself that she was going to the outside world?" 

Seeing the guard nod, the expressions on the Elders' faces darkened. "Mind control..." The 5th Elder spoke. "I cannot believe this. A person actually snuck inside the clan and kidnapped one of our own under our noses. The audacity!" The 4th Elder gawked.

"She had to have been with someone then. You, did you see who it could have been?" The 3rd Elder's gaze seemed to pierce to the guard's soul. "S-she was alongside Rufus, one of our Shadow Element assassins. I remember he was already with Lady Emma earlier yesterday..." 

"A-HA! So it was your daughter's fault!" The 3rd Elder raged at the black haired 2nd Elder. "That's impossible, Emma would never do that!" "But, then again, she has been spending a lot of time in the outside world..." The 4th Elder interjected.

"4th Elder, what are you saying..." "I believe we need to question where Emma's loyalties lie." The caped figure answered. "Enough. For now we still don't know much. The letter says that the kidnapper wants to negotiate with us. I believe we should wait until then." 

"Alright." "Acceptable." "I don't see why not." The others nodded at 1st Elder's words. Even the 3rd Elder needed to accept under the gazes of others. "Good. By then, the teleportation formation is to be sealed off; anyone caught using it would be sentenced to death!" 

The Elders then return to their mountain caves. The 2nd Elder was left alone on her mountain peak. "She wouldn't really do such a thing... Would she?"


	62. Chapter 62

Noscrim Family territory. As the Moon shined brightly in the sky, Anastasia Noscrim finished with her dinner and went to her room. She changed into her pajamas and laid on the bed. 

Time passed, and she realized that she couldn't sleep. "Looks like this will be another sleepless night." She talked to herself whilst staring at the ceiling. She knew very well why she couldn't sleep. 

[It returned again.] The nausea came back several days ago. She knew what it meant, and a warning she received a few years prior surfaced in her mind. [You'll explode, releasing a huge amount of Ice Element magic and freeze entire kilometers of land.] 

A slight fear crept up her mind every time she realized that she was helpless. There was nothing she could do, and the one person who could help her is now dead. Of course, Anastasia wasn't so foolish so as to believe that Noah was the only person who can fix her condition.

Before and after Noah's death, she reached out to many alchemists for an examination, but ended up with no results. No one but Noah knew what she had, and what kind of danger she was in.

"I'll die." She spoke to herself with mixed feelings. "No, I'm afraid that's not going to happen." Suddenly, a man's voice answered back to her in the darkness of the room. "W-mmf?!" A hand pushed a piece of cloth onto her nose and mouth.

Anastasia tried to struggle, but the hand didn't budge an inch. In a few moments, all resistance faded, and the girl laid on her bed unconscious. The figure cowered in darkness picked her up and placed her on it's back as it jumped out through the window.

The figure ran through the woods, reaching a carriage with a Donell Family simbol on it. "Welcome back, Elder." The coachman bowed and closed the door after the man. "Everything went well." Noah commented as he placed Anastasia next to him and tied her up.

After arriving at the Donell Family mansion, Noah left a message for Robert saying that he was going into seclusion and that he is not to be bothered. He carried Anastasia into the cellar, locking the door and placing many noice cancelling spells and energy absorbing magic circles.

The cellar was empty and dark, with the only source of light being a few torches. On the cold stone floor was a circle made of arms that held each other. The arms were cut off from many ordinary humans that Robert "collected" per Noah's request. Next to the circle was a table with a glistening rainbow potion.

Many strange and mysterious runes were carved on the arms, shining with crimson red light. The stone floor inside the circle of arms was filled with more runes, forming a kind of vortex. There were two such vortexes, in the center of one of them lied June, completely naked.

"The preparations are complete." Noah layed Anastasia off to the side. He undressed himself, removing the meat jelly artifact, and stood in the middle of the second vortex. "Heberev mutou anshu..." Following Noah's chants, the runes on the arms began glowing in a brighter red color. 

The runes on the floor began moving, making it seem just like the vortex was spinning. The speed at which they flowed increased as Noah continued chanting, soon turning in a vortex made of blood! 

At the same time, translucent white arms sprung up from the lifeless human arms. If one focused enough, they would almost be able to hear the agonized shrieks of human souls. 

The translucent hands set their gazes on the naked woman. Immediately, they latched onto her body and picked her up! *Siiiii* Once the hands grabbed a hold of June's body, a black tattoo in the form of a spine appeared on her back as if trying to ward off the hands!

Noah smiled when he saw this, and his chanting increased. The translucent hands followed his will, grabbing the spine tattoo and pulling it away from June's body! The tattoo squirmed and resisted, but it was pointless. 

The hands didn't let go, and as time passed, the tattoo's resistance kept weakening. As it was pealed off, June's body trashed around in pain, and her sleeping face contorted as bean sized drops of sweat fell on the floor.

Finally, the last connection between the body and the tattoo was severed, and the translucent hands threw June's body off to the side. *Sizzle sizzle!* The tattoo, now ownerless, seemed to have gone mad as it desperately stretched in all directions.

"Haahh!" Noah exhaled a sharp breath. His hands were shaking, and his mana was being spent in large quantities. But his expression was joyful. The translucent hands brought the black tattoo close to his back, and forced it in!

The black tattoo spread it's shape into many small tendrils, drilling into Noah's back. This brought him horrifying pain, but Noah seemed to have not noticed it. Time passed, and the pain only increased the more the tattoo familiarised itself with Noah's body.

Finally, the pain stopped, and the tattoo once again took the shape of a spine before disappearing into Noah's back. "Hahah!" Noah let out a hearty laugh at the success of the transplantation. 

"That was quite challenging. I didn't expect the ritual to be so draining." Right now, Noah's leftover mana was only at 5%. It would be impossible to continue with the ritual. "Moreover..." The circle of arms on the floor turned to dust, and the runes disappeared. 

The ritual would need to be set up again. "It doesn't matter. According to Robert, the Prime Minister Roland won't return from the capital for another week. I have enough time." His eyes showed greed as they observed Anastasia.

At the same time, the peace of the night was broken by a thunderous noise, as a lightning strike sliced across the sky. "Hmm? Is it going to rain? But there are no clouds in sight..." Robert glanced outside before returning to his work.

*Crash!* "Ah!" An arrow broke the glass window of his room and stuck itself right into the table. Robert fell on his butt in shock before quickly recovering. There was a message wrapped around the arrow.

He opened it and began reading. "Respected sir Donell, we apologise for the misdeeds of our junior clan members. We hope that you would return miss June unharmed, and in exchange we swear that our clan will not bother you in the future."

Robert's lips curled up. "Now I have you, cheap slut. This is only the beginning!" As he imagined Elizabeth's expression when she finally kowtows to him naked, Robert licked his lips in anticipation.

......

Botelli Family castle. At the same time as the lightning strike, a girl's eyes opened wide, revealing a white glow. "She's... sad... what a monster... I have to... get rid of anyone who makes Mother sad..." Tears began sliding down Jenna's face as she sneaked out the window unnoticed. Her expression constantly changed, from anger to sadness to indifference.

......

The morning sun shined on the estate. Noah exited the cellar and was led to the dining room to a plentiful feast. "Ah you're here. Did you finish your work?" Robert sounded in a good mood. 

"I'm close to success. Although I'll need more people." Noah replied indifferently. He didn't reveal why he needed those people or what he was going to do with them. "Sure." Robert didn't seem to care, he just ordered the servant to take care of that and resumed eating.

Noah was reminded of a pig when he looked at him. "They answered?" "Yes, and they agreed to my demand. As long as we return that woman unharmed tonight, your sister will lose all of her support." He laughed smugly.

[Too bad for you then.] Noah knew that when the Shadow Clan find out about what he did to June, the last thing they will do is listen to Robert's demand. Noah did this on purpose as he did not want Robert to move about unhindered. 

Noah never trusted Robert from the very beginning. Just because they had an alliance now didn't mean that they would always have it. For the sake of his own safety, he would make these two sides waste time fighting each other while he benefits.

According to his knowledge of the future, Robert would win regardless, so why not make it a bit more tougher to win? "I'll be leaving soon." "Oh? Where to, if I may know?" Robert asked. 

"Tageer Desert. I have business to do there." Noah replied. "Alright, I won't pry further. Also, those potions you provided for me have proven their use. I made a lot of money. Getting you that dragon egg won't be a problem." 

"Excellent." Noah finished his meal. "I believe you can solve the negotiations by yourself. Deliver the people to the cellar." "Sure." Robert raised a glass of wine to Noah and drank it to the last drop. 

At night, Noah set up the second ritual. This time, however, the ritual was a bit different. Noah stood in the center of one of the vortexes with a knife in one hand and a rainbow colored potion in the other. 

Like before, the translucent white arms grabbed Anastasia, making her ice veins composition appear all throughout her body. The hands peeled off every small vein individually and threw away Anastasia to the side. 

The ice veins composition looked different than June's. Because Anastasia didn't grow up with the composition properly, many veins looked broken and cracked. This time, instead of transplanting the composition immediately, Noah ordered the hands to keep the damaged veins suspended in the air.

*Pop!* He corked open the potion and spilled it's contents on the composition. *Ssssss* The damage to the ice veins was being healed quickly, making it visible to the naked eye. Many cracks were already healed and the broken parts were stitched back together.

Noah smiled, knowing that although the composition wasn't perfectly repaired, it won't take long for it to nurture itself back to it's peak performance. The hands now forced the ice veins onto his body.

This time, every part of Noah's body felt a giant chill from the inside. It felt as if icicles formed under Noah's skin, stabbing him everywhere. Some time later, the process was complete, and Noah's body was now filled with many small blue veins running across his body.

"Excellent. I already gained two new talents." Noah sighed in reminiscance. In his past life, Noah would have never even thought of doing a ritual such as this. He was too inexperienced. 

The minimum requirement for completing this ritual safely was having experience and insight of a General Rank Mage. If Noah didn't have his experience of a Sovereign, then he definitely wouldn't have even tried today. 

What Noah didn't know was what consequences this ritual would have on the previous owners of the body compositions, however, he didn't particularly care. The Shadow Clan would no doubt be angry regardless, do it wouldn't matter much.

"Now, let's try out the Shadow Element." After putting on his clothes, Noah decided to use some Shadow Element spells. "Shadow step." Noah's whole body sank into the shadow on the floor, completely unnoticeable by anyone.

He moved around throughout the cellar, from the floor to the ceiling, before coming out. "It works perfectly. Although, if I get hit by a Light Element spell while in this form, it would definitely hurt." 

Next he decided to try out his bloodline skills. "Shadow Armor." With a call, Noah's own shadow slid up his legs and covered his body, creating black knight armor! The armor was as light as a feather, and it didn't mess with Noah's movements. 

"Eyes of Petrification!" Noah's eyes were focused on the small table in the cellar. *Tsss!* An ashen layer of stone began to spread on the table, covering it completely. *Knock knock!* 

"The table is indeed made of stone." *Bang!* With a small punch, the table broke into pieces, all of them pieces of stone. Noah nodded with satisfaction. "Now is time to leave. I wonder, should I go and revisit the Akhulan Kingdom? Getting a divination technique might prove useful."


	63. Chapter 63

The Shadow Clan was now in a state of lockdown. No one was allowed to go outside nor send any messages. "I cannot believe this, that disgusting pig was capable of something like this?" Emma walked around in thought.

Per her mother's orders, she was currently in house arrest, and was ordered to wait for the Elders to decide what will happen to her. "Elizabeth..." Emma was sad that she wasn't able to send a message to her friend.

While she was thinking, she realized that the person most probable to have kidnapped June was Rufus, one of her men. It was understandable why the Elders would suspect her involvement.

But she didn't understand one thing. "Why? What could have that pig offered Rufus that he would betray the clan so readily?" Rufus was born and taught by the clan his whole life. It didn't make sense for him to suddenly turn traitor. 

At the same time, in the clan's medical ward, June slowly opened her eyes. "June!" The 3rd Elder called for her. June looked around the ward, setting her gaze on her father. "You're awake! Tell father, what did they do to you?" 

"Eh? I'm sorry, but who are you?" "Ha?" The 3rd Elder was stunned. His daughter didn't behave normally. "What are you talking about, June? I'm your father." June looked at him with a confused expression.

"June? Who is that? I don't know anyone with that name. Actually, who am I? What is this place?" Seeing that June was not making a joke, the 3rd Elder felt the veins on his head pop out. 

Leaving behind the confused girl, he ran out like a berserk animal towards the teleportation formation. "I'll kill them!! I'll kill all of them!! They think that this old man is a fool?!" Hearing the 3rd Elder's angry yells, the other four Elders had to restrain him again.

"3rd Elder, what are you doing now?" 4th Elder asked. "Shut up! They damaged my daughter's memories, I'll kill them!" The other Elders were clearly surprised. "Tell us more." On the request of the 1st Elder, the 3rd Elder explained June's current situation.

After that, even the other Elders were angered. "Despicable! And they expect us to hold our end of the deal?" The 5th Elder waved his sword, cutting the nearby stones cleanly in half. 

"What gall! 1st Elder, surely we won't listen to them?!" The 2nd Elder, although she disliked the 3rd Elder, still felt insulted. Even the 1st Elder showed a cold glint in his eyes. "Of course not. But let's not rush head on into a possible trap. We need to spend time learning about that man's forces first." 

"Then we should ask that Emma girl! I still believe that she's connected to this incident!" The 3rd Elder raged. "Yes, she does seem to know a lot. 2nd Elder, bring her over to the Judgement Peak. We can also use this chance to clear her name." 

"Yes, 1st Elder." The 2nd Elder agreed. Inside, she hoped that Emma really had no connection to the Donell Family lord. If she did, death would be a luxury for her.

......

Noah walked out of the teleportation ring inside the Akhulan Kingdom capital. Looking around, you'd see a lot of knights and Warriors out and about on the streets. Mages were actually somewhat of a rarity here.

It didn't take Noah long to find out the location of the Botelli Family territory. They were rather famous in the kingdom. A day later he set off on foot to their castle. He was going to plunder the Botelli Family.

"You there!" A person suddenly called out to him. Noah turned around and saw a figure dressed in a pure white cloak. Their voice was distorted to hide their gender and they released pressure befitting a Paragon Rank Mage.

"I know you. You work for the Donell Family young master." "So what?" Noah immediately raised his guard. "You don't have to worry. In fact, you're saving me the time. I'm a Mage working as a connection between my boss and the young master." 

"Oh?" Noah sounded interested. "The young master did mention someone like that. What are you called?" "Lucien. That's my name." The figure replied. "Indeed, he did mention you. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard good things about you, sir Lucien." Noah bowed in respect.

"No need for formalities, we're both on the same side. Actually, I have important news for the young master. Please follow me, this place is too open." Noah nodded and the figure turned around to leave. 

Suddenly, Noah used the power of his Paragon Rank body to launch a fist straight at the figure's back! *Deng!* “To think that you would still find out after all!” A small mirror shaped artifact shot out of the figure's cloak, creating a small shield in front of the figure. 

The Mage in the white cloak smiled wryly, and his voice turned much gentler. It belonged to that of a young woman. “It can’t be helped since I’ve never really swindled anyone before!”

The woman forced a laugh and removed the cap that concealed her face. What was revealing was an ordinary female face. Though she wasn’t that pretty, her eyes were extremely gentle and there seemed to be ripples within them, making her unforgettable.

On her chest was a large necklace of gems and pearls strung together, each sparkling with every colour under the sun. "... A Diviner of the Botelli Family, I presume?" Noah said after a moment. 

"Oh, you knew?" The girl sounded surprised. "Of course I did. Only someone sheltered their whole life could put on such a horrible performance. I admit you knew some things correctly, but you probably couldn't know every little detail with that prophecy of yours." Noah answered calmly. 

"But why are you against me? Don't tell me, were you in love with Bosain?" "Regarding this problem…” The girl lowered her head, as if ashamed. “This is…”

In a split second, a multi-coloured burst of light erupted from the necklace around her neck, rapidly approaching Noah.

"Too obvious." Noah lightly jumped backwards, moving out of harm's way. Rainbow rays of light enveloped the ground and formed a rune on the floor. Under the light, all plants, and even the soil began to wither.

“Gotcha!” At this scene, a smile appeared on the girl’s face. Noah, who was in the middle of moving, was surprised. At that moment, a dim spell formation suddenly appeared, and lit up under his feet.

Countless white pillars of light rose, forming a cage that locked Noah up within. [Did she plan ahead and set this up beforehand? No, too risky! It must've been a prophecy!]

Inside the cage, Noah shook his robes, and several fireballs crashed into the cage, the red flames burning fiercely. However, these pillars of white light were extremely sturdy; the Fireballs could only cause the light pillars to tremble. It seemed like much more power was needed to break this spell formation.

A person who was able to lay such a spell formation was not a simple character. Noah carefully looked at this female Mage with great interest. 

No matter if it was that obvious attack that was sent as a bait to attract Noah’s attention, or grasping the right opportunity and making an instantaneous decision to strike, it was not something any ordinary Light Mage could do.

This particular prediction of where Noah was going to land made Noah even more interested, alongside making him worry a little.

If it was the power of divination, he was worried that he was still helpless against it. “You still didn't answer my question, though.” Noah, who was trapped in the white pillared cage, asked. This was his first time meeting this girl in his life. 

Unless she truly did have some personal connection to Bosain, there wasn't a reason for them to be in a battle to the death. “I’m sorry, but you are the catalyst that will bring destruction and suffering to this world. To protect the peace here, I have no choice but to sacrifice you…”

Beads of tears dripped down her face. Noah could not determine whether or not they were crocodile tears. “So just because of some illusory prophecy, you want to get rid of me after thinking that I will bring danger to the world?”

Noah thought of many reasons before, but he didn't expect such an answer. "What a load of bullshit. If you call this calm before the storm "peace", you must truly be delusional or stupid." He sighed. 

However, since it had already been confirmed, what this girl had cast before was a type of prophecy spell.

“You don’t need to struggle anymore. This is a cage that I prepared especially for you using fragments of the future that I obtained. Not only is it made entirely out of light elemental particles, I’ve also included innumerable high-level spells that are fire resistant. Even with your most powerful attack, it’s impossible to break out of there!” The girl suddenly closed her eyes and then quickly opened them; her pupils were white.

“For the sake of world peace, please leave this place!” She said indifferently, her originally common face unexpectedly radiating a holy feel.

As the words left her mouth, the white pillared cage trapping Noah began to close in. Countless white threads of light separated from the pillars and enveloped the interior of the cage.

These white threads were like thin silk produced by silkworms, wrapping themselves around Noah’s body as if they wanted to wrap him in a large cocoon.

“Hehe…” Noah paid no heed to the threads surrounding his body and suddenly began to chuckle.

“What are you laughing about? If you have any last wishes, you can tell me. By my reputation as Jenna, Guardian of the World, I promise I’ll help you achieve it!” Both of Jenna’s arms were placed on her chest, and she made a praying gesture with her hands.

"Oh sorry, it's just that I haven't heard something so stupid for many years now." World peace? What kind of an idiot fights for world peace? Noah thought of one individual from his past life who was exactly the same. He also remembered the broken, lifeless expression she had when she realized that this world doesn't need protection. 

"There will be a day where the world will understand our methods, and world peace will reign forever!” Jenna did not mind Noah’s words and instead replied with a maxim. She then pointed at the cage. “Purify!”

*Tsssss!* The white rays of light enveloped the entire cage, and Noah suddenly felt as if he had been placed in a furnace. He had a strange feeling that he was going to be melted down. This made him a bit impressed.

He had no idea where Jenna had gotten this spell formation, but its might was incredibly formidable and even Noah began feeling a little pain. “I still have something to say!” Noah took out a badge artifact and pored mana inside.

Despite the huge pressure on him, green vines coiled around Noah’s body which was resisting the corrosion of the white light. This scene made Noah look quite pitiful.

“Sinner! Speak your last words!” Jenna advanced slowly. “I…” Noah’s lips moved slightly.

“What? Have the light elemental particles already corroded him to this extent?” Jenna got even closer and pressed her ear to the side of the white pillared cage. "You fell for it? Unexpected." 

In a moment, Noah's body was covered in shadows that took the form of black knight armor. "Chain Explosion." Three explosions sounded from within the cage. 

The giant shockwave immediately caused part of the cage to burst open. The explosion did not stop there and even extended to where Jenna was. “Argh!” Jenna grabbed her face as she was sent flying backwards.

The white thread, which had been restraining Noah before, immediately exploded. Even the white pillared cage was clearly damaged. “Eyes of Petrification!”

Noah’s eyes were focused on the area where the cage was caved in. *Tssss!* An ashen layer of stone began to spread on the white pillars. Noah clenched both hands and ferociously struck at the area of the cage that had been petrified.

*Rumble!* The white light expanded, and in a moment, reached the height of several dozen metres, as if wanting to break through the clouds. After that, it was engulfed in the flames of Noah's spells. 

As for the heart of the flames, a figure with tattered clothes and black armor walked out slowly from it. There were various burns across Noah's body, most of them made by his own spells. 

Noah had brazenly blown up part of the cage, and since he was right next to the explosion it was no wonder he suffered some injuries. The small burns from the light corrosion were the least damage he received.


	64. Chapter 64

“No! That’s impossible!” Jenna, who had collapsed at the side, was holding on to half her face. Seeing Noah escape, she shouted in disbelief.

“How did you get out? In the future I saw, there wasn’t anything like this!” Jenna yelled, her facial muscles twitching slightly. “I know. It has to be! You must be the traitor going against fate!” Jenna’s face suddenly contorted in anger. 

"Who I am is not important, what's important is that you have to die today. Now, please don't waste my time and die quickly." With an emotionless voice, Noah used his right hand to viciously claw at Jenna!

“Guard!” Jenna grasped the large, thick necklace around her neck. A red gem brightened and a huge lava fireball generated in front of Jenna, rushing towards the black smoke.

*Boom!* A huge energy wave was emitted, the scalding molten lava scattering in all directions, creating large black holes in the ground.

“Even if you have all the spells prepared in that necklace today, it won’t be able to save you!” Noah’s eyes glinted coldly. 

Several crimson fireballs were shot out instantaneously, and merged into the air as one collective fireball! The immense energy waves momentarily exploded with might which immediately burnt a huge pit in the ground.

"I command thee, as an Officer of magic, Latent Fireball!" Noah pointed at Jenna. The giant fireball seemed to set like the sun, projecting over Jenna’s position.

Before the crimson flames descended, more sweat trickled on Jenna’s face, which was even paler than before. “Frost!” Jenna bit her tongue, spitting out blood on the necklace. 

At that moment, the necklace around her neck continuously emanated ice magic energy waves as it produced a series of white rays while the pearls emitted light one after the other.

The white rays formed a dozen huge ice shields in front of Jenna. The large, translucent blue shields could clearly reflect the surroundings. The fireball from before flew down from the air, and in a flash, struck these ice shields.

Water vapour was being emitted. A distance away from the fireballs, the water vapour quickly condensed into water droplets and ice chunks that fell to the ground. 

After everything had settled down, the frost shields that were in front of Jenna and the Latent Fireball had already disappeared without a trace.

In the mist, a black figure appeared within. Noah, whose body was lined with the Shadow Armor, immediately charged to where Jenna was.

*Sssii!* The layer of icy defense coming from Jenna’s necklace was immediately crushed by Noah’s right hand. At the same time, he knocked Jenna away with his body.

*Pa!* Noah’s shoulders crashed with a huge impact on Jenna. *Chi Chi!* The mirror from before jumped out of Jenna’s robes, enveloping her whole body. *Baam!* Jenna flew backwards like the head of a train that had left its tracks, bashing into many trees along the way. “This woman…”

Noah focused his attention on Jenna. After that exchange, he could tell that she was merely a newly advanced Mage. In terms of power, she was far from an ordinary Paragon Rank. If not for having a powerful magic artifact in possession, as well as that incredible gift for divination, she would long since have died at Noah’s hands.

As long as she was given time to set up formations, she could quickly come up with methods that were specifically catered to her enemy’s weakness, like that incredible white pillared cage that had trapped him. Even a peak Paragon Mage would be in trouble!

“Enemies with prophesying spells are indeed the most troublesome. I was fortunate enough that her prophecy did not account for my Rank, but it’s unlikely that I’ll get so lucky again!” Noah’s eyes turned cold as ice. 

The thought that there was an opponent that was operating behind the scenes with prophesying skills woke up some unpleasant memories. Having this happen once was one time too many.

“Shadow Stealth!” Noah tenaciously glared at Jenna, who had crawled up. The armor on his body flickered and gradually became translucent, and he vanished into the air. 

He had decided to go all out when dealing with Jenna, and he made it his mission to ensure that this woman remained here forever.

Seeing Noah disappear into the air, Jenna’s expression became even more serious. She currently felt Noah’s determination to kill her. She was born intelligent, and with her divination technique and her strengthened sixth sense, her instincts told her that if she made the slightest mistake then she would be the one that died today!

For the first time, such a terrifying experience had taken control of Jenna’s spirit. Deep down in her heart, her willpower, which could not be shaken, had slowly given in.

For the first time, Jenna felt that it was a very bad decision to come out here alone to assassinate Noah! This fear and regret were like a poisonous snake which was continuously gnawing at her already weak mental fortitude.

At this moment, something strange happened. Jenna seemed perplexed at first, but very soon her will was strengthened. “It’s just a hallucinatory spell!” Jenna’s face turned red in anger. “Despicable, lowly tricks!”

*Boom!* A black figure appeared in front of Jenna. With his right hand clenched into a fist, Noah struck the defensive membrane from Jenna’s mirror artifact. 

This artifact was not in its best condition from its previous consumption, and with Noah’s fist, it was shattered into countless white spots, dissipating into the air.

Noah’s right hand was able to grab Jenna’s right arm without any obstructions. *Craack-pow!* A bone crunching sound was made, and Jenna’s right arm had been torn off.

“Arghh!” The muscles on Jenna’s face contorted in pain. She clenched her teeth and the silk on her robes seemed to writhe with life, bandaging her wound quickly. "A clothing type artifact?" Noah calmly observed the cloak's effect.

At the same time, a large pushing force was emitted from Jenna's body, as if wanting to leave Noah’s attack area. “Thinking of running?” Noah’s pupils focused on Jenna. “Eyes of Petrification!”

Instantly, a mysterious light emitted from Noah’s eyes as he targeted Jenna. "What?! How is that possible?!" Jenna made a sound of bewilderment. Petrification magic was something already extinct in the continent. These days, only monsters could use such skills.

Next, creaking sounds emitted from Jenna’s body, as if her muscles had become stiff. A layer of stone began to spread from Jenna’s face.

*Tsssss!* In front of Noah, Jenna turned into an ashen stone sculpture. *Ding!* When the grey-white colour had completely enveloped her, a light vibration came from the bulky necklace.

The whole necklace floated in the air, where the faint voice of an old person sounded, “Ultimate Guard of Life! Activate!” Dazzling light shone and enveloped the region in an instant. 

After Noah opened his eyes, the stone statue in front of him had already crumbled. Jenna who was within had disappeared, leaving behind only a pile of petrified skin.

After casting this final spell, that bulky necklace lost all of its powers. *Ka-Cha!* *Ka-Cha!* A layer of petrified stone suddenly emerged on the surface of the necklace. The necklace had turned into stone, fallen to the ground, and shattered into pieces. 

"This is a substitution spell!” Noah’s expression turned even more solemn. “This necklace contained so much power and even concealed a final body-substitution spell! The Botelli Family is not to be underestimated!”

Substitution spells are one of the rarest on the continent, usually only used by members of the royal factions. The fact that Jenna had such an artifact showed how much the Royal Family valued her. After realising this situation, Noah solidified his resolve of killing Jenna. “You won’t be able to run from me.” 

Noah released his mana sense. Several dozen seconds later, his brows furrowed and he hurried towards a certain direction. “I… I have to hurry and leave!!”

Jenna grabbed at the stub of her torn arm and rapidly traversed through the woods. “The family heirloom necklace was destroyed, yet I wasn’t able to get rid of him…”

Jenna was very dejected. The necklace from before was an heirloom, and for it to be destroyed while it was in her possession was a huge blow to her. 

“Damned heretic! Traitor of fate! There will come a day that I will punish you!” Jenna pledged inwardly. “Found it.” Something that sounded like the devil’s voice rang in her ear, and a vicious hot air brushed against her.

Jenna quickly pounced to the side. *Boom!* A huge explosion sounded at the place she had been at, sections of the ground and plants flying everywhere.

Meanwhile, Jenna suddenly smelt something very sweet and immediately after, her entire body became numb and she collapsed to the ground, unable to move. “This is the end.”

Noah walked to Jenna, who had breathed in large amounts of paralysis gas, and raised his right arm expressionlessly. “You- You can’t kill me! Do you know who I am?” Jenna struggled, stuttering out her thoughts.

Without waiting for Noah to ask, she quickly answered. “I am the successor of the Botelli Family. I’m on good terms with the Akhulan Kingdom's Royal Family and various large organisations. The moment you kill me…”

"They will never find me." Noah's emotionless and calm answer increased the girl's fear. "I-if you kill me, nothing will change. My Family will simply train a new Diviner. There's no benefit in you killing me..." 

"Don't worry, you'll be reunited with your family soon. I plan to exterminate the entire Botelli Family, after all." Jenna's eyes opened wide. "You're crazy! You'll be hunted down like a dog! Sinner! The One who made Mother of Peace sad! Die a thousand deaths!" 

Noah ignored the curses of a crying girl and placed his hand on her head. "Soulsearch." All of Jenna's memories left her mind and entered Noah's. "Hmm, I see." With those last words, Noah took a drop of blood and the white cloak and mirror artifacts, before burning Jenna's corpse into ash.


	65. Chapter 65

“Is this the rumoured upside-down castle? It really is quite strange.” Noah, now looking exactly like Jenna with her white cloak on, approached the castle. In front of the gate were two statues with large swords plunged into the ground. 

These two statues were over ten metres tall and two to three metres wide. Whether it was their appearance or weapons, they gave off an intimidating aura. [These two statues are almost equivalent to a General Rank Warrior!]

Noah marveled at the stone guards. These two were definitely given by the Royal Family, and are only deployed when the Botelli Family is in a crisis. "Halt!" The two statue guards at the gate came to life and their muscles rippled as they yelled in a low tone.

Noah did as he was told, and after the statues recognized his appearance as Jenna, they bowed on one knee and opened the gate. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by the guards and the whole of Botelli Family came to greet him.

"Jenna! Oh my lovely Jenna, where have you been?" An old woman in a pure white gown hugged Noah all over. "I was so worried about you! We found your room empty and thought that something horrible happened! Don't do this again, you- Jenna?" 

The old woman and the rest of the Botelli Family stopped cheering once they looked at Jenna's appearance. Under her hood, Jenna was crying! Her cheeks were red from what looked to be slaps, her lips were bitten all over, her hair was disheveled, and she looked a bit dirty.

"Dear Mother..." "Jenna? Jenna, who did this to you?!" The old woman was about to fly into a rage. Jenna didn't look her in the eyes but grabbed her in a hug and started crying bean sized tears. "Madam Griselda..." The other family members were stunned, their minds full of many reasons.

"Quiet, don't you see she's hurt?!" The old woman's fierce glare shut everyone up. "Don't worry, Jenna, your family is all here. Come, let's get you to your room. You can tell us all about what happened after you calm down." 

"Is everyone really here?" Jenna softly whispered, barely enough for the old woman to hear. "Yes, so don't worry." Griselda patted Jenna's head lovingly. "Perfect." However, Griselda suddenly heard a man's voice.

"Jenna?" Griselda couldn't voice her surprise quickly enough, as 'Jenna' suddenly grabbed her head! "Soulsearch." In a few seconds, Griselda fell over dead, blood pouring out of her orifices. 

The rest of the Botelli Family was too bewildered to do anything. By the time someone understood the situation, it was far too late. "It's a fak-" *Swoosh!* Noah sent his mana slash out, cutting apart any nearby people. 

"Shit, do something!" "Run away!!" "For the Mother of Peace!" "How could this happen..." The family fell into pure chaos. There was no difference between the weak and the strong, the cowardly and the zelous, the young and the old.

Noah slaughtered all of them indiscriminately. Explosions rang off everywhere, destroying the castle from the inside. Windows broke apart, and the white marble was died red with fresh blood. 

An hour later, the only remaining person inside was Noah. "That is all of them." The memories he gathered from the old woman Griselda confirmed it. Now, all that was left was to plunder their treasures.

"Though the divination technique, Sacred Flame, is incomplete, it is still unique! Its nature is extremely troublesome, and only one person in the world is able to train in it at a time.” Noah looked through Jenna's memories, and immediately decided to not use it himself. It was extremely troublesome.

Gathering generations of ancestors and keeping them in the bodies of descendants, this divination technique was something even dark Mages would find furtive and terrifying!

In addition, Jenna, who was the host body, would some day become schizophrenic and turn into a pitiful state. To some extent, after training in Sacred Flame and inheriting the spirits of her ancestors, Jenna had already died.

"What a strange technique, and a strange family.” Noah touched his chin. The properties of Sacred Flame caused him some hints of worry. Before he completely made sense of it and researched methods to evade these effects, he was not willing to go anywhere near it.

"Well, the important thing is that no one else gets it." Noah released Niolo outside. "Ooohh, Noah my friend, what a fun event you have here." Niolo licked his lips. "Mm, anyway, I'm going to plunder them, keep a lookout for any unwanted visitors." With a nod, Noah left Niolo to his antics and proceeded to the basement.

The entrance itself didn't look special. It wasn't guarded by any magic, so Noah entered with no problem. Inside, it looked like an ordinary basement, full of big wine barrels that could store hundreds of liters in them.

Noah walked to the end of the basement. Even with his mana sense, he couldn't find anything special here. "Clever." The Botelli Family used Isolium to coat the basement walls and floors, thus blocking any and all mana sense searches.

"Let's see, the 2nd from the end on the right..." Noah approached one of the barrels and knocked three times on it. After waiting for exactly twenty seconds, he knocked for another nine times, this time faster. 

The surface of the barrel now disappeared, replaced by a small wooden head of an old man. "The password?" It asked in a deep voice. "The Mother of Peace sleeps a peaceful dream." Noah answered.

The wooden head disappeared, and with the rumbling sounds, the wall next to the barrel opened, revealing a big vault door. This time, a face of an old woman appeared. "The password?" "I will guard the World Peace until her return."

With mechanical sounds, the heavy vault door opened. What was revealed to Noah was a room that spread on for an entire kilometer. It was filled with mana crystals and various spell models for Mages, alongside body training techniques for Warriors. 

To cover everything, he had to release his mana sense. "This is quite a lot." The amount of mana crystals in this place was gargantuan, as it was considered the Botelli Family's savings for many, many years. There were also an incredible amount of highest grade crystals.

"What a good haul." Noah smiled at the sight. He walked through the vault to a small marble pedestal at the end. On it stood the famous Sacred Flame divination technique, written in a white book and decorated with gold.

Although Noah already knew the technique from Jenna's memories, he still read it once to remember it. Then, he finally burned it into cinders. "Now then, I wonder if these Warrior techniques could be useful?" 

He now sucked up all the mana crystals and counted them with his mana sense. The number ended up being a whooping hundred million mana crystals! Noah sucked up cold air. This was equivalent to what only the biggest families on the continent had in terms of mana crystals. 

Even the Grand Dukes didn't have this many mana crystals. "Looks like I won't be worrying about money for a long time." He then looked at all spell models in the vault.

There were certainly many of them, and some of them were even General Rank! After successfully remembering them, he burned them as well. The Warrior techniques weren't that useful, but he still remembered them as well before destroying them.

"Hm? What's this?" Noah noticed a weird small book in one of the corners of the vault. What was strange to him was that he didn't see it before with his mana sense. 

After thoroughly inspecting it for any traps, he picked it up. It was an another body art, but the difference was that it looked worn out and was written in an ancient language. "36 strikes of Zenwu? What a strange name..." After deciphering the language, Noah realised an interesting thing.

The language used here was the Warovo language, used in an era known as the Golden Age of Magic many millennia ago. It was a few eras before the Blood Severance Era, meaning it was incredibly ancient.

"This body art is practically a piece of history! What's it doing here, in a corner of a Diviner family vault?" As he murmured to himself, Noah skimmed the pages. The body art looked normal for the most part, there were instructions on physical training, proper moves, breathing and the conditions for successful training.

But there was one thing that made Noah's heart skip a beat; this body art wasn't aimed at Warriors, but Mages! This was unbelievable, such a body art never existed before! 

"What's more, the moves described here don't need mana to circulate through the body, but the shaping of pure Elemental particles into a weapon! But such a thing can only be done correctly by someone with experience of a Sovereign!" 

Noah had never in his both lives even heard of such a body art existing. This was incredibly shocking. "Sigh, It's a pity that the knowledge about the Golden Age of Magic is mostly lost today. I wonder, who was this Zenwu?" 

Noah had a smile on his face. Although no one other than Sovereigns would have the qualification to practice it, Noah was an exception! If trained properly, he might just have a new special card up his sleeve.

"I truly earned a lot today. I should keep looting more Diviner families in the future." He stored the body art into the spatial ring and left the vault completely empty.

"... What are you doing?" In front of the castle gate stood a strange sculpture made of various body parts of the dead Botelli Family members. Moreover, the two statue guards from before were now positioned in front of the sculpture whilst kneeling.

And right next to that was Niolo, laughing his ass off. "Oh, Noah my friend, how do you like my sculpting skills? I believe it turned out rather well." The demon soul laughed as it flew around Noah. 

"It looks unique enough. We're leaving now. Return to the demonic spellbook." "Fine, fine. We should do this again sometime." "Sure." Noah nodded and began casting spells at the castle. 

*Rumble rumble!* The castle completely collapsed and turned into a pile of rubble. From here on, the Botelli Family was no more... 

......

Days later, shocking news spread throughout the Akhulan Kingdom. An unknown force attacked and destroyed the Botelli Family, even going as far as to make a disgusting flesh sculpture out of the members' body parts.

The Royal Family issued a decree, saying that this was an obvious insult and an attack towards the Kingdom, and that the perpetrators will be severally punished. Over several hundred different organizations were involved, making the kingdom a chaotic place.


	66. Chapter 66

The Great Canyon Margaret spanned across the Lidour Kingdom's south side, making for a good natural border between the Brabet kingdom and the infamous Tageer Desert, situated between the two kingdoms. It was a place that was necessary to travel through if you needed to go to the Brabet Kingdom.

Of course, this was only with regards to Ranked Mages. Ordinary citizens of the kingdom seldom step out of their birth cities, from their birth until their death. Even many mercenaries only receive missions within the certain radius of their birth cities.

Mercenaries and adventurers crazy enough to travel in the vicinity could use the experience they gained to flaunt or gain respect. “Great Canyon Margaret is filled with danger. Even a hastened journey takes several months…”

Noah thought over the information about the Great Canyon. Transportation on the continent was inconvenient, causing a great deal of pain for magicians who travel far and wide.

Of course, he had another choice — he could ride in an airship. An airship would immediately take him to his destination in a much shorter time. 

But unfortunately, not only was this mode of transportation costly, there was only a fixed number of dates per year for its departure. Furthermore, there were stringent requirements for passengers. They needed a local family or an organisation to be their guarantor.

Noah had no intention of asking Robert for help regarding such a small matter. He also didn't like the fixed schedule, so naturally, he wouldn’t wait for the airship and had to rush by foot. Soon, Noah entered Angler Town.

This was obviously a Mage gathering area. There were little, almost none, ordinary people, and the architecture of the buildings around portrayed a gloomy style that appeared cold and weird. Even the atmosphere was filled with a moist putrefying stench.

According to his experience, in these kinds of dangerous districts beside the major transportation road, dwell those who harbor bad thoughts, Mages who have nowhere to turn to. Simply put, wanted criminals.

While thinking, Noah arrived at the heart of the town. As he went deeper into town, he saw that the average strength of passersbys were greater. At the heart of the town, he saw a few Paragon Ranks and even a few Officer Ranks.

All of the Mages here wore cloaks and mantles, and their faces were covered by a face flannel— almost as if they did not want anyone to recognise them.

In general, Mages who’d risk passing through the Grand Canyon Margaret rather than riding the airship were usually individuals who had been classified as criminal scum and were on the run.

Some of them had offended local forces and had been forced to flee. Others simply had to flee to save their lives because someone more powerful hankered after something they possessed.

As a result, abruptly using detection spells here was often the cause of a huge battle. Noah looked at the watchtower in the middle of the town, whose hands were showing five past noon. 

The sky slowly darkened, and the pedestrians present on the road lessened. Approaching the centremost pub, Noah knocked on the somewhat rotten door.

*Dum dum!* A dull noise reverberated throughout the somewhat empty street, even drawing the caws from a couple ravens.

“Who are you?” The wooden door quickly opened, and a long-haired man with sparse wispy hair appeared, sizing Noah up.

“I wish to pass through the Great Canyon Margaret and I hear that I will be able to find a means of transportation nearby…”

Noah used a shroud to cover his face. The voice that emanated from within sounded somewhat gruff. “Great Canyon Margaret? Are you a Lord Mage?”

The old man patted his head, and immediately opened the wooden door, “Greetings, Sir! What you say is correct; the Broken Axe Pub is the only place where you can find the Seated Lupin Wolf…”

This old man was just an ordinary person, but it was obvious that he had seen the world, and that he knew both how to read a situation and how to protect himself. Noah nodded his head and walked into the Broken Axe Pub.

Looking around, he noticed that everything looked just like in his previous life. In his first years as a Paragon Rank Mage, Noah fell into trouble with the son of an Elder in the organization he was in and had to run away. This was the place he was recommended to by a helpful friend of his.

The reason why he chose this place was simple; the Great Canyon Margaret was always surrounded with terrifying sandstorms and it required several months to traverse it.

Also, there were a lot of hidden dangers in areas of the canyon. Being filled with dangerous swamps full of poisonous insects and the like, horses could not be used in there. Even General Ranks had lost their lives in some of the most dangerous spots!

Hence, forming a group and riding the Seated Lupin Wolf was the only way to get across the Great Canyon Margaret. This particular pub was extremely quiet, up to the point of it being somewhat eerie.

Under the dim lighting, long chairs were placed along some partitioned rooms and sofas in the surroundings. The little cubicle had three walls. Only the side facing the bar was wide open, as if the cubicle was a recess into the wall. In the hall, several magicians sat in groups, drinking different coloured alcoholic drinks from time to time.

Noah sniffed the aroma, and made out that the alcoholic content was extremely low, only meant to taste good, and not to induce drunkenness. The magicians in the lobby were mostly Paragon Rank. There were also several Officers.

Noah came in front of a horseshoe-shaped counter, sat down, and watched a bartender in a black suit. “Sir! Do you want an ‘Ice Mountain Beauty’? Many magicians love this drink!” The bartender smiled and asked. 

"No." Noah answered nonchalantly, tossing a middle grade magic crystal to the bartender. “I wish to employ a Seated Lupin Wolf. Give me the information I require, and the remainder will be yours.”

Without a word, the bartender accepted the magic crystal. “Sir, are you preparing to travel across the Great Canyon Margaret? Although the sandstorms have stopped, there have been rumours of a pack of Kary Vultures having seized the route leading towards the single necessary replenishing point. How about forming a group before setting off?”

"Kary Vultures?” Noah fell in thought. This was one of the monsters that lived in the canyon. In its mature stages, a Kary Vulture was comparable to a Paragon Rank Mage. As for the King Kary Vulture, it had an existence equivalent to an Officer Rank Mage.

If there really was such a group of Kary Vultures occupying the single route towards the canyon leading to the supply point, a traveller’s plan to cross the canyon would be compromised.

“All of these things that you have said were told to you by someone else, no?” Noah did not answer and stared at the bartender, before suddenly speaking up.

“Yes! Several Lords like yourself have already formed small groups, and they’re lacking a few members. Hence, they had to stay in this area, and entrusted me to find a suitable member for them…” The bartender smiled.

"Very well.” Noah answered. “I wish to meet with the group before considering joining them or not.” Although it wouldn't be hard to take care of the Kary Vultures by himself if he used Niolo, Noah decided to go with a group of people. 

Ever since being with Jayden and Bosain, Noah began acting more carefully. He still didn't believe that Jayden finding out the map to the inheritance was a complete coincidence. He decided to use Niolo only as his last trump card for escaping.

“Of course. In fact, the group was formed by solo travellers, so they have been staying here…” The bartender smiled and nodded his head.

......

Half a month later, the bar employees respectfully and sincerely sent off six figures riding big black wolves out of Angler Town.

The Seated Lupin Wolves were matte black in colour, with a patch of red fur on the crowns of their heads. There were also two golden yellow rings on their forelimbs, which were securely linked to their necks.

Each wolf was over 5 metres tall and 2 metres wide. Their appearances looked extremely vicious, and every step they took spanned the distance of several metres, so their movements were extremely quick. Moreover, the Seated Lupin Wolf’s back had two hump-like bulges, which were suitable for travellers to rest.

These Seated Lupin Wolves were provided by the Broken Axe Pub at the rate of five hundred middle grade mana crystals per wolf. After reaching the destination, the travellers would release them, and they would run back to where they came from.

At this moment, Noah was seated comfortably on the back of a wolf. He rose and fell on the strong and healthy back with his eyes half closed, releasing his mana sense outside.

Even though he was travelling on the Seated Lupin Wolf, traversing the Grand Canyon Margaret would require at least two months. The route also had a lot of dangers, so it was necessary that he be prepared for any kind of sneak attack, monster or human.

With the introduction of the bartender, he had several meetings with the small group before deciding to join them. It would be very difficult for a lone magician to face the vile environment of the Great Canyon Margaret, and even break the watch of those Kary Vultures.

Moreover, Noah confirmed that the other party members were in the same situation as him, forming a party at the very last minute, so he was not afraid of them colluding against him.

Even with Noah’s entry, the group members felt that their safety was not guaranteed. After having waited for an additional week, it was only the previous day that another Officer Rank Mage had joined them, and the group had decided to set off.

While resting, Noah took a look at the members of his group. Due to fact that the group was only a temporary one, in addition to the wariness of the magicians, more than half of the group members’ faces had been concealed. 

Only an old, white-haired old man and a voluptuous female magician did not conceal their countenances. Other magicians were the same as Noah, with half of their faces wrapped, and appearing cold and detached.

All of these magicians emitted the energy waves of an Officer. The Great Canyon Margaret was too dangerous for any Paragons, so apart from any special circumstances, they seldom choose this route.

The roasting sun shone with a comfortable warmth. As the surroundings turned dark green, the short shrubs bowed down to the Seated Lupin Wolf as they passed.

Noah felt like he was back in his past life. Although some things looked different than in the future, a majority of plants here almost didn't change at all.

[Moreover, rumours had it that originally, there was no great canyon and that in fact, it had been formed by two unknown, high ranked Mages fighting.] He thought back to something a friendly fellow Mage said to Noah at that time.

Looking down from the sky, the Great Canyon Margaret seemed like a wound created on the body of the continent, or better yet, a scratch. 

Noah smiled at his past life self's ignorance. No matter how you looked at it, this canyon was naturally created. Breaking apart the ground like that would require the strength of a Magistrate Rank Mage at least. And when they fight, nothing is left behind but destruction.


	67. Chapter 67

But, regardless of what the rumors said, due to the unknown influences of nature itself, the Grand Canyon Margaret suffered from strange geographical conditions and an ever-changing natural climate.

In the Great Canyon Margaret, various terrains such as grasslands, mountains, forests, marshes, and deserts could be seen. Moreover, one moment, there might be rain, and in the next moment, a terrifying thunderstorm.

As for the enormous intermittent sandstorms, they were a calamity that even powerful Mages had to escape from.

Fortunately, the large scale sandstorms had their specific timings, so this passage was not completely out of the question. Advancing through such an environment was a severe test for a Mages’ physical body and mental endurance. Death might lie around any corner, and that wasn't a pleasant thought.

As for the Seated Lupin Wolf, it was a unique species that grew up within the Grand Canyon Margaret. As if undergoing evolution, the original species of mountain wolves, in the span of a long time, had evolved into an organism that was completely capable of adapting to the terrain and climate of the Great Canyon Margaret.

As for the magicians on both sides of the Great Canyon Margaret, they captured, tamed, and transformed these wolves into a necessary tool for traveling through the Great Canyon Margaret.

According to Noah’s guesses, behind the Broken Axe Pub, there were definitely one or more large noble families that had joined hands. If not, they wouldn’t be able to reap in such sizable benefits from this huge territory.

*Pu* The sturdily built Seated Lupin Wolves continuously dashed across the grassland, bounding forward from time to time to avoid the obstacles ahead.

Their sharp canine teeth and claws were enough to deal with most of the wild creatures, saving the magicians from having to cast spells, and letting them rest.

*Rumble* In a split second, the initially bright sky was covered by clouds, and snake-like lightning rolled across the sky, sounding out rumbling thunder.

The most mysterious thing was that on Noah’s side, the weather was still fine. One side of the sky was clear, while the other was ominous, filling it with a type of indescribable aesthetic beauty.

“It’s a thunderstorm! Pay attention and avoid getting wet!” The leader, an old man, spoke from the forefront. A vote had passed in the party, finally choosing the two who would show their faces as the temporary leaders.

"Damn!” Noah’s ears twitched as he heard a female traveller from the front complain. However he did not bother with her, only drawing out a large tarpaulin from the spatial ring on the Seated Lupin Wolf and draping it over his body.

*Hu Hu Hu* The speed of the wolves was extremely quick, so after a dozen minutes, they entered the region of thunderstorms. The cold wind was whizzing, mimicking knives slashing against everyone’s faces.

*Plip plop* Not long later, bean-sized raindrops fell, rapidly turning into a heavy downpour. Under the rain, the grassland had now turned into a marsh.

The muddy ground hindered the footsteps of the wolves. As for those blind spots, they were littered with the traps of quicksand. Once someone was to step into one, they would very soon be swallowed whole. The wolf Noah was riding on sounded a long hiss, and immediately, its four wolf paws gave out white light.

Streaks of light began to form within the white dizzying glow. When the rays of light began to disperse, a thick coat of wolf fur could be seen above their paws. When the fur was spread out, it resembled a hoof.

*Ta* *Ta* The wolf proceeded on water as if it was flat ground. The speed of the entire team got faster. “A creature formed from a combination of nature and magic, truly interesting.” Noah sighed in admiration as he gently caressed the wolf’s hump in front of him.

At this instant, the wolf hair on the hump gathered and became similar to a layer of skin, sticking onto the surface of the wolf. It had a layer of oil, causing it to resemble a raincoat. Rain continued to roll off the body of the wolf, and not a drop remained on the wolf.

"It's a shame I can't dissect it, I would've liked to better understand their biology." The wolf under Noah slightly shivered once it heard that, but resumed moving soon after.

With the speed of the wolves, they were able to make it before dark. Noah and his party finally managed to rush out of the torrential rain zone and entered a stone forest.

“Tonight, we shall rest here. Pitch your tents and leave the wolves around the perimeter. Don’t forget to feed them!” The female magician yelled.

Upon hearing that, the magicians restrained and fed their mounts. They also began to pitch their tents in the stone forest. Very soon, a circle of tents was seen assembled closely together. The Seated Lupin Wolves were circling around the tents, laying low, as if keeping vigil.

In a special tent, Noah finished his meditation and took out the ancient alchemy book out of his spatial ring for study. "This book is in a pretty bad state." Inside, many pages were torn off, and some of the whole ones were ruined by hardened blood.

What was worse was that the mostly untouched pages weren't anything useful, forcing him to scour through. After a minute, he finally found some concrete information. "It's a recipe for a potion. By the look of the ingredients, it seems to be quite high rank." Noah murmured to himself. 

Next, he took out the strange body art he found in the Botelli Family vault, "36 strikes of Zenwu", and looked at the moves in greater detail. "This body art is quite challenging to learn, it requires the practitioner to train only in areas rich in Elemental particles." 

Such areas were rarely found, and even if they were, they would usually be under the control of the Kingdoms or the top families in the continent. Learning this art would take some time.

After he stored the books back inside, Noah got up and left the tent. “Wu wu!” A Seated Lupin Wolf, which was laying beside his tent, whimpered, slightly lifting its tall stature.

“Eat this.” Noah took a large blue cod from his spatial ring and fed the wolf. The Seated Lupin Wolf growled with excitement and raised its giant red tongue that had white moss to gnaw on the fish.

As the tongue swept past Noah’s right hand, he could feel a warm, moist sensation. Although the wolf could hunt for its own food, only specific kinds of foods could keep up with their daily intake as a beast of burden.

“Hello, Xander!” The tent beside Noah’s opened and a provocative and revealing figure walked out. Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose as he made his greeting. During the allocation, he was assigned to be a pair with this woman. "Hello, Lancey."

You’re here to feed the wolves too?” Lancey nodded her head, as she took out some cod to feed the wolf beside her. Each and every move of this woman had a sense of loneliness behind it. Noah felt that this was a woman with a story to tell.

Of course, every magician who wanted to travel through the Great Canyon Margaret had a story behind them. Although Noah did not know why this female Mage wanted to escape to a new Kingdom, he didn't care so he didn't ask.

"Listen! I hear the slight hymn of the wind! Look! The white clouds which are freely floating in the skies~” At this moment, a rock beside the two of them trembled. A sprite, which was fully brown in colour, suddenly emerged and played its harp while singing.

Looking at the rock sized sprite, Lancey covered her mouth as she gasped. “It’s the Brownstone Singer! I heard that they were extinct! I never thought that I’d see one here…”

Before Noah could speak, the old geezer leader came out from the tent, while exclaiming in admiration when he saw the sprite strumming on top of a rock.

“Brownstone Singer?” Noah recalled the information regarding these creatures. “It seems to be one of the rumoured creatures that possess mysterious abilities, but don’t have much attack strength.”

“What adorable creatures!” Stars seem to shine in Lancey’s eyes, and she could not resist the temptation to try and touch them. "The energy waves that they emit are so weak— I wonder how they survived till now?”

“Let me capture them and slowly conduct my research!” A large bloke who heard the banter walked out with a disdainful expression.

Following his demand, he circulated mana into his arm as he tried to grab the sprite. “You, stop!” Lancey frowned, but his words obviously did not carry much effect.

The large bloke did not even stop and immediately grabbed the Brownstone Singer. The sprite stared blankly, before crying out and turning into mud yellow light dots, which disappeared in the hands of the large bloke. “This… what just happened?”

“The Brownstone Singer is a creature that is naturally formed from nature. They are able to harmonise with the earth energy particles within the air. Mages who are not at Officer Rank or above would not even be able to touch them!" The old geezer leader said.

“Moreover, they are really timid. After getting scared off by you, they might never come back.” Noah added on. Upon hearing what Noah said, the old man was astounded as he looked at Noah. “I cannot believe that you actually know such information, which has been neglected by many!”

“I just happened to come across it while reading an ancient compendium…” Noah replied modestly. At this moment, the discussion had aroused the curiosity of the others Mages from the camp and brought them here.

“There’s still a little bit more.” Noah looked at the huge bloke with a pitiful gaze. “Legends have it that those who have been touched by a Brownstone Singer, regardless of their gender, would get pregnant!”


	68. Chapter 68

"Are you kidding, hahah… Argh…” The huge bloke had a sinister smile, but soon after he gave a miserable shriek. The surrounding Mages also cried out in surprise, as if they’d seen something unbelievable.

Right in front of them, the huge bloke’s belly began to slowly swell, taking the shape of a bulge. Thinking back to what Noah said earlier, Lancey was fearful yet relieved that she did not touch the Brownstone Singer like she wanted to.

Looking at the big bloke freaking out and hurrying back into his tent, drinking and consuming all sorts of items with medicinal properties, smiles were seen hanging on the faces of all the people at the site…

After appreciating the spectacle, they rested for the night and carried on their journey the next day. The huge bloke had also recovered, but his complexion did not look very good.

Where magicians were concerned, to induce an abortion, it was a small and simple operation that even one man could handle.

The effects of the Brownstone Singer might be frightening to a normal person. But for magicians, it was more of a practical joke than something to be feared.

[Due to the Grand Canyon Margaret’s topography, it became a paradise for many exotic creatures. Legends have it that you can still find trails of those that were said to be endangered or extinct here….]

Noah thought to himself as he saddled the Seated Lupin Wolf and watched the surroundings slowly changed into an ash-gray rocky forest.

If it wasn’t because of Grand Canyon Margaret’s complex and ever-changing topography, and the huge sandstorm encircling it for a good part of the year, this canyon would have long became a natural resource mine for the magicians.

As time slowly passed by, the ash-gray rocky forest around Noah and the others became shorter and shorter. Eventually, their surroundings only had fragmented small stones, resembling a barren land.

"Limestone Wasteland. We’ve already merged into the standard route. In the next ten days or so, we’ll be more at ease. But following this will be the frightful Golden Desert, where the Kary Vultures gather. Everyone should maintain their energy, and prepare for the upcoming battle…”

The lead, an old geezer, yelled uninterrupted, as he rode a Seated Lupin Wolf that had a few strands of white beard on its face. The magicians all wore serious expressions.

Some of them hung onto their artifacts as if they were going to battle every second now. Noah put on some artifacts on himself as well; the white cloak, Jayden's green badge, Targar's beast teeth necklace and the small mirror. 

However, he was still a bit unsatisfied. It was because, although he probably had the most artifacts out of everyone here, only Targar's necklace and the skull cross artifact were middle grade artifacts, the rest were low grade. 

In a battle between two Officer Ranks, low grade artifacts can at most defend against one basic attack, and even that is a good result. [I need to get some more artifacts soon, but that will have to wait for now.]

He took out a map he bought from the Broken Axe Pub and opened it. The map was simple, there were general markings of the danger zones within the Grand Canyon Margaret. In the center, there was a twisted green route, that was linked from one side of the map to the other.

‘Kary Vultures Gathering Place’ was marked with an eye-catching red font, that was in the center of the green line which they have to pass through.

On the other two sides of the route, there were other extremely dangerous zones marked scarlet, which indicated that they cannot be traversed. This only meant that making a detour was impossible.

If Noah and the rest want to safely get across the Grand Canyon Margaret, the only way was to banish the Kary Vultures obstructing the route. Noah found the range of the Limestone Wasteland on the blue map. It was a big ash-gray region. 

Small words were written beside the region: “Limestone Wasteland. Verified as having an extremely low level of risk, and no high-energy life form was ever seen…”

Obviously, the Grand Canyon Margaret was explored by countless magicians on both sides and this was the best route to take to get across the canyon as it held the least risk.

As expected, once they entered the Limestone Wasteland, Noah felt the Seated Lupin Wolf’s muscles and fur slightly loosen up, as if entering a relatively relaxed state. 

"The concentration of mana in the air here is smaller, as if the air has some kind of leakage and causes the mana within it to be vaporised.”

Noah snapped his fingers and a small ball of flame appeared on his palm. It trembled in the breeze as if it could be extinguished at any time.

If it were outside of this area, this small flaming wisp would be burning brightly, several folds brightly than now and its power would have been around Paragon Rank.

Noah nodded. "To cast spells here with complete power will cost even more strength and mana than if cast outside of this place, just like in the future. I wonder why this is?”

Magicians and magical beasts all use the energy particles within the air to perform all sorts of unimaginable and marvellous magic. If the mana concentration in the air was smaller, the power of the spell cast will also be reduced.

Moreover, if a living being stayed in this place for a long time, it might undergo mutation. As for those beings who knew magic, they would abhor these kinds of regions.

But the Limestone Wasteland’s desert-like appearance was a good thing for travellers like them. At least, there was no need to worry about random, exotic species ambushing them along the way. They could rest and conserve energy. This tranquil life lasted fifteen days.

Along the way, there experienced some bad weather and other situations. But it was not an issue for Noah, who was a well-prepared magician.

The night before they were to walk out of this Limestone Wasteland, the old geezer, who was leading them all, and Lancey, gathered the six Mages.

"Starting tomorrow, we will be out of the Limestone Desert, and entering the Golden Desert!” Under the illuminating flame, the old geezer’s wrinkled face showed uncertainty as his pair of pupils shone.

“At the heart of the Golden Desert, the third supply spot that we will pass by has been occupied by the abominable Kary Vultures. The reason why we formed small teams, was mostly for this! Now, it’s time to make the final decision!”

The old and tiny geezer looked around: “Will we kill the Vulture King as mentioned before, or merely expel them?”

“What else? Of course, we kill it!” The huge bloke who was teased by the Brownstone Singer took the lead and voiced out first.

“Materials made from the Vulture King can be sold for tens of thousands of magic crystals, and bar owners from both ends of the canyon will give extra rewards. Is there anything better than this?” 

This was mentioned by the bartender from the Broken Axe Pub, who gave this small team an impromptu mission —— Kill the Kary Vulture King, do not let it leave alive!

Once this is done, not only will the materials obtained from the Vulture King belong entirely to the group, the pubs on both sides will also give a generous amount of magic crystals as a reward.

Because of the existence of the Kary Vultures, it had caused issues for cargos that were transported back and forth the canyon. It seems that the people involved can no longer tolerate it.

And the Kary Vultures were very vengeful creatures. If the Vulture King wasn’t killed, it would gather more of its kind and hunt down any visible Mages.

The impromptu team Noah was with, had a short discussion at the bar and agreed to the bartender’s proposal. After all, high ranking magicians all lacked resources. They couldn’t afford to miss any opportunity to accumulate more resources.

What the old geezer had put forward, was only to make a final confirmation. “Of course!” “Well, did we not agree on this before?”

The huge bloke’s words caused a resonance, and Noah gently agreed. As long as it was appropriate, he did not mind giving his vote and gain some magic crystals. “Great!” The old geezer smiled till the wrinkles on his face gathered together, resembling a chrysanthemum.

Seeing him like this, Noah reckoned the Vulture King had an important material that the old geezer needed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so into this. 

"Good! Then I’ll delegate tasks to everyone accordingly. The Kary Vultures are very cunning, their ability to fly makes battling them extremely troublesome. Those of you who have flying magic…”

The leader old geezer started to deploy everyone. Contrastingly Noah remained uncommunicative; he did not voice out his expertise. He ended up with the role of assisting the attacker.

The old geezer’s arrangement was quite fair. In accordance with the principles of “work more, get more”, every magician was assigned a job within their capabilities and developed a detailed plan.

However, during the planning, the flying magicians who were tasked as attackers and responsible for intercepting had the privilege of selecting the spoils of war. And the old geezer just had a showcase of his strange flying magic.

Flying was still a relatively rare ability amongst the Wind Element Mages. Not only is the specialised high rank flying magic rarely seen, it is also not practical.

Not unless they managed to obtain a few magic artifacts that could aid flying, like Bosain. But, as far as higher ranking Mages were concerned, only middle-grade magic artifacts would be deemed useful. 

For example, that item in Bosain’s hand — the liquefying metallic ball. Although it was very useful for one at the Paragon Rank, for an Officer Rank it would have very low power and be considered to be very weak. 

The most important factor, speed, of that artifact had not reached a suitable standard, and to use it to assist with flying would only be seen as a joke. It was still rare to be able to master the Officer Rank flying magic like that old geezer leader.

A pair of pale green wings grew on the back of the old geezer. When he soared into the sky, Noah keenly felt the currents and particles in the wind fluctuate. Evidently, the old geezer was a Mage who specialized in Wind element.


	69. Chapter 69

Dark clouds covered the sky, and it began heavily raining. It pelted onto the tarpaulin Noah had draped over his shoulders; it gave a cooling sensation.

Riding on the Seated Lupin Wolf that had a night’s rest, Noah appeared tranquil as he peered through the ashy haze, trying to look at the scenery ahead.

*Whoosh* It was as if the curtains were pulled apart. Noah felt like he had rushed out of a dense fog as extremely dazzling sunlight directly shined on them. *Rustle rustle* Wolf claws slowly sunk into the countless grains of sand they were stepping on.

The rain-filled, dark clouds had gradually dispersed, and now the fiery sun had taken over the sky. It brought with it burning hot rays of brilliance, which constantly spread across the wide desert. From what they could see, there was a field of gold as well as modulating levels of sand dunes.

“Golden Desert, we’ve arrived!” The old geezer leader yelled out. Noah felt the surrounding temperature increasing constantly. It must have gone up by at least thirty degrees since the rain earlier.

The sweltering humidity continuously flooded into the tarpaulin. *Ruffle* Noah removed the tarpaulin and stripped off some clothes to avoid unnecessary sweating.

This sudden change in temperature within the Grand Canyon Margaret was not unusual. If ordinary people came here, it would have been a torment for them. However for Noah and his group, it was only a wee bit troublesome.

“Awooooooo!” The leading Seated Lupin Wolf howled, and the rest of the wolves that were being ridden by the others also howled. It wasn’t clear if these howls were due to excitement or was meant as a warning.

With the howling of the wolves, the body hairs on the Seated Lupin Wolf began to change. The Seated Lupin Wolves had black fur, and only the head had a touch of bright red fur. But now in the hot sunlight, the wolf’s hair color gradually faded. 

Finally, it completely transformed into a pale white color, then a streak of light blue lighted up from the wolf’s body. The whole piece fur turned ice blue.

An icy breath emitted from the back of the wolf. The icy-cool feeling was very comfortable, especially in this desert.

Noah glanced in interest at the adaptability of the Seated Lupin Wolf. Under the scorching rays of the sun, the ice blue fur was not affected by the heat as much as the dark fur. 

As for the fact that the Seated Lupin Wolf knew of these — Noah believed that it was due to the mutations the wolves experienced that allowed them to evolve. Moreover, they even applied the slight use of Ice Element energy particles.

The Seated Lupin Wolf was undoubtedly the best creature to traverse the terrains of the Great Canyon Margaret! 

The six huge wolves with icy blue fur gave off a chilly sensation. They very soon proceeded on their journey along with the Mages riding on them, and stepped into the Golden Desert which was 10 times more dangerous than the Limestone Wasteland.

Under the scorching rays, Noah gulped down some water. With his vision and mana sense, he had already discovered many dangerous creatures in the nearby desert.

To put it bluntly, the level of danger in the Limestone Wasteland was the lowest in all of the terrains within the Great Canyon Margaret.

A dozen days before, the journey for Noah and the others were extremely relaxed. There was no difference from an excursion, and the dangerous creatures they met were rare.

However, things were obviously different in here. With the slightest observation, you could notice many dangerous lifeforms concealed within the sand dunes. 

Six-Eyed Poison Snake, Golden Scorpion, Toxic Compound Eye Lizard were a few creatures that Noah saw before in illustrations as they continued to appear before his eyes. There were even some grotesquely shaped creatures.

“The energy density in the air here has even been replicated. It’s even higher than in the outside world, no wonder there are so many troublesome things.” Feeling the energy particles that filled the air, the bloke next to Noah gasped slightly.

Everyone, keep your spirits raised. The dangers in the Golden Desert cannot be compared with the Limestone Wasteland!” The female Mage, Lancey, shouted.

Even without her reminder, the other Mages present had already recollected their absent-minded pace from before.

One can loosen their guard occasionally in the Limestone Wasteland, but if they chose to do the same in the Golden Desert, they were foolish and seeking for death! 

Those magicians who were able to advance into Officer Rank were seldom such people. "Awoooooo!”  
Just then, Lancey’s steed let off a howl. Its huge claws were raised and its sharp claws at tip slashed down with a cold glint of light!

*Pat* Suddenly, a black scorpion with the image of an eye appeared in front of where the wolf was. It was patted down by the sharp claws of wolf as it continuously writhed its body and hissed.

*Ka-Cha* The Seated Lupin Wolf dropped its jaws and opened its gory mouth as it placed the scorpion into its jaws. The razor sharp mandible continued to chew, bringing along the snapping sounds of the scorpion’s bones being crunched.

“Such a life form can be settled by the Seated Lupin Wolf. However, dangerous creatures such as the Kary Vultures must be dealt by us personally!” Lancey slighted nudged her steed forward and said to the Mages behind her.

“This is…” Where the Seated Lupin Wolf had attacked earlier, it sent a huge amount of sand flying in the air and Lancey spotted several grains of gold within it. She reached her hand forward and grasp a handful of gold sand in her hands.

In the middle of the normal grains of sand, several golden grains were mixed in with it. Its weight was also heavier than the others by a large margin.

“Golden sand?” She looked at the gold which seemed to be alluring and was somewhat speechless. “Golden Desert, this here is the real Golden Desert!” The old geezer leader muttered.

“If it was the secular world, it will definitely cause chaos. A pity, however…” With a look of contempt, Lancey flung the gold sand back onto the ground. 

To magicians, only the mana crystals, the magic ingredients which could be used to make potions and the various advanced information was considered to be the real currency!

As for the gold belonging to the secular world, apart from its uses as an ingredient, it was no different from regular metals.

Moreover, the Golden Desert was situated inside the Great Canyon Margaret, an area forbidden to regular humans. To traverse it also required the employment of the highly expensive Seated Lupin Wolves.

Thinking of the cost of excavation would already frighten many low ranking nobles! Noah didn't feel anything regarding the golden sand, and moved on.

His mana sense had been released all along as his eyes surveyed the surroundings. In the Golden Desert, one must always be on alert.

The six giant, icy-blue wolves seemed to be six small boats in the Golden Desert as they continuously plodded on. After the sky gradually darkened, the temperature in the desert also dropped.

At this moment, the Seated Lupin Wolf gave off warmth; their furs also turned back to black, as if storing the heat from day time. “Today, I shall stand guard during the night!” After Noah had built his tent, one of the Mages present among them said so.

There was a total of 6 in the group. Noah, Lancey, the old leader, the huge bloke and two others who remained silent most of the time. The one who spoke was one of these two.

These two Mages had grey robes on at all times, and seldom spoke. Their personality was also extremely antisocial. Up till now, even the old geezer managed to exchange two sentences with only one of the two.

“We will count on you!” Lancey did not look too good, her face appeared tired as she went into her tent. During the day, she had used her mana sense to scan the surroundings for any activity going on. Now, she urgently needed to rest to recover her mental strength.

Noah was a former Sovereign, still with the mind of one, so his mental state was still doing fine. Yet he still put on a false impression of being weary. “Are you not tired? Don't you need to rest?” Lancey turned around to the Mage and casually spoke to him.

"I need not rest. I have these. Come out, my little babies!” The Mage on night duty gave a deep laughter as his pair of arms performed a strange gesture.

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* A layer of Earth Element particles continued to emanate from his body. The surrounding sand rose up by a layer. After which, it was quickly broken, revealing a dozen yellow slates.

These muddy yellow slates each had a human face on them. Some were young, some were old. They even a had a pair of slim arms and legs. Just like gingerbread men.

“Father! We await your commands!” A dozen stone slate people knelt on one knee in front of the Mage on night duty.

“Very well, you all shall guard the night for me. You are in charge of…” The night guard Mage nodded his head and unrestrainedly began giving out orders.

"Are those Sentinel Slates?" Lancey appeared bewildered. Noah looked at them as well. He quickly noticed that these creatures looked like Sentinel Slates, but were a bit different.

“It’s a Paragon Rank Sentinel Slate but they have undergone modifications from me!” The night duty Mage declared proudly.

After breaking through a higher rank, magicians will often attempt to modify and improve some Paragon Rank spells and even some ordinary spells of the secular people. 

Once they were successful, it could absolutely turn into a unique trump card. Or it could be sold in exchange for a large amount of resources.

A pity that these things and finding replacement potions were the same. Unless one was extremely lucky to chance across it, or only after undergoing a vast amount of experiments, would it be possible to see results.

"It’s really quite a remarkable spell!” Several traces of admiration, which was just right, appeared on Noah's face, turning the gaze of the spell caster gentler towards him.

“Let’s go! The Sentinel Slates originally have to use of acting as a warning. After my modification, their detection abilities can span a dozen miles…” The Mage on night duty said.

Noah looked at the Sentinel Slates, which, having received orders, hurriedly ran to the outer area of the camp encirclement, using the sand to conceal their own bodies.

Along with the sand that continuously trickled down, the energy waves of the slate got smaller, finally turning into an untraceable spell. Noah approved in silence.

Any Mage would have their own trump card. Once they were disregarded, it would definitely be a painful experience. Deep in the night, Noah who was in a light sleep heard an ear-piercing scream.

“Hurry, get up! We have trouble!” The earlier Mage, who was on guard duty, went into the individual tents and his face showing utter exasperation.

“What happened?” Lancey’s expression was the worst. There were several spots on her body where the robes were not yet arranged, as it revealed her alluring flesh. A pity nobody at the scene bothered to have another look.


	70. Chapter 70

"A Golden Giant is in the process of moving towards us!” The Mage on night duty exclaimed hurriedly. “The Sentinel Slate used to alert the others has been completely eaten by it, too!”

“Fuck!” After hearing these words ’Golden Giant’, Noah quickly heard the startled oaths of nearby Mages. The Golden Giant was a type of elemental species. Its power was close to that of a General Rank Mage. 

On top of that, it has its own unique racial talents. Only a General Rank had the capabilities to thoroughly kill or banish it.

“Wasn’t it said that the Golden Giants from the Golden Desert are extinct? Furthermore, it appeared conveniently in our way. “ The old leader clenched his jaws in a state of madness. His eyes emitted a green radiance.

"Can we avoid it for the time being?” Lancey suggested. “The Golden Desert is so huge, he might not be able to find us!”

“I am afraid not!” Noah was the first to interject with an 'alarmed' voice. “The Golden Giants have a natural instinct to chase species with high energy levels. The energy propagating from our bodies acts like a lamp in the darkness for the giant’s eyes. The more we move, the more likely the Golden Giant will assault us!”

If that is the case what should we do?” A look of despair appeared on Lancey’s face. “Unless we have a General Rank within our party, we will all fail to escape the assault of the Golden Giant….”

Either a General Rank Mage, or around a hundred Officer Rank Mages ready for a battle to the death. Without either of those, they had no chance of surviving an encounter with a General Rank Golden Giant.

Even though Noah was calm, he knew that if it actually came to a fight, the best possible outcome would be escape. If Niolo had a body to possess in the material world, then killing the Golden Giant was perhaps possible.

But now, he would be lucky if Niolo could even negotiate with the Golden Giant. If that happens, he would have to kill the rest of the party members as they would be witnesses. He was already thinking about what he should do.

Perhaps, we should scatter and escape in different directions…” The large bloke hesitated for a while before suggesting. Upon hearing the suggestion, the Mages present entered a state of silence and eyes started flickering nonstop.

“Are you people mad?” The old geezer interrupted the large bloke in a fit of anger. “If we fled in different directions, can you guarantee that you individuals are lucky enough to escape the assault of the Golden Giant? Furthermore, what will you do after you reach the Kary Vultures’ territory?”

The two sharp questions abruptly brought about a deeper silence. After fleeing in different directions, they could once again head towards the intended destination. If they were lucky, there was even a chance of heading back to Broken Axe Pub.

However, this was only the last resort. The Mages will not accept their foul fate just like that. “Quick! Another three of my babies are dead!” The night shift Mage said with a heavier breath than before.

"Maybe we could use the Sentinel Slate along with a rune which dissipates energy continuously to distract the Golden Giant. While it is distracted, we could do our best to restrain the energy emitted from our bodies and sneak away… If it fails, we could do as mentioned earlier and scatter in different directions…”

In the midst of silence. Noah suddenly spoke up. “Although this plan is unreliable, we obviously have no better options…” The old geezer let out a sigh of deep resignation and pointed at Noah. “We will do as he says! I happen to have the material for a few Sentinel Slates…”

Following which, he handed out vials filled with grey powders to the night shift Mage. Having looked at the materials handed out by the old geezer, the night shift Mage displayed a look of unwillingness. 

However, he still received the materials from the old geezer. “Alright, let’s try it! But I cannot guarantee that it will work!” Soon after the chants from the nightshift Mage, a few pieces of Sentinel Slates that resembled the destroyed one rose up from the sands.

At this moment, the people in the camp could clearly see a golden glow appearing in the eastern direction. This glow was like the sun dissipating the darkness and brought about a glimmer of warmth.

In front of the solar disk was the colossal shadow of a giant. The giant’s body radiated a golden light. It was armoured very simply. A leather armour on this upper body with an iron hoop in the middle that joined the two shoulder pads.

On the shoulders rested the head of the giant with rigid face lines that looked like it was caused by the scrapes and slashes of weapons. The tangerine hair on top of its head looked like it was burning mightily. "Quick! Quick!” The old geezer’s voice was filled with urgency.

“I know a few energy concentration runes, hopefully, it is of use!” The other usually quiet Mage stood up and said. Following which he applied what looked like a mixture of circular and triangular runes on the Sentinel Slate.

After the runes were inscribed, they radiated brightly and suddenly a power energy surged out from the Sentinel Slates. This enormous energy fluctuated chaotically causing the Golden Giant to let out a roar and accelerate towards it.

“Nice! It grabbed the Golden Giant’s attention!” Lancey exclaimed happily. “Let’s add this on top!” Noah uncorked a red test tube and poured its content on the inscribed Sentinel Slates.

After the liquid from the red test tube assimilated fully into the Sentinel Slates, the Sentinels let out angry snarls and transformed to be bigger and with stronger limbs.

“Hopefully, this will help them hold out longer.” Noah tossed away the empty test tube and muttered to himself quietly. "Deception." The energy propagating out of his body was reduced from that of a Mage to a normal person.

This was done using the Deception Art. It diluted the level of energy propagating from his body. After which, he went over to his Seated Lupin Wolf, placed a cover over the wolf’s mouth and gave it a pat on it's head.

The Seated Lupin Wolf seemed to be aware of the presence of the incoming Golden Giant. It got low to the floor with limbs trembling and waited for Noah's command.

The other Mages followed Noah’s action, although what they used was a Transfiguration spell. They also used the protection of the environment to conceal their whole body.

Finally, the Golden Giant was nearer to the camp. It was less than only 500 metres away! At this sort of distance, Noah was able to see clearly every single hair on the giant. “It’s up to you now, babies, attack!”

“Attack! For our father!” The burly and buffed up Sentinel Slates roared. Some of them rushed head on towards the Golden Giant while the others split up and ran in different directions.

Whether it was the brave Sentinels Slates who charged heads on towards the Golden Giant or the others who ran in different directions, their bodies carried a large source of energy which pulsated out of them. The energy was almost like that of a Paragon Rank Mage.

"kjfl!” The Golden Giant let out an unknown type of shout as if swearing. It stretched out its large palms in a posture like it was hiding the sky and covering the earth. It pushed against the ground and dredged up the earth.

A few of the Sentinels were picked up by the Golden Giant. “For glory! For protection!” The Sentinel Slates roared as their little fists rained down upon the giant’s large arm.

*Creak Crunch!* The large Golden Giant placed the captured Sentinels directly into the mouth. It sounded as if he was chewing through biscuits.

After ingesting the Sentinel Slates, the Golden Giant let out a loud roar and chased after the fleeing Sentinel Slates with large strides.

“Now!” The old geezer’s voice was soft. The six Mages covertly pulled the Seated Lupin Wolf and left the camp area. Everyone was doing their utmost to contain the energy pulsating from their bodies. There was even a cover on the Seated Lupin Wolf’s body. Like moles, they stealthily left the area.

The Golden Giant shouted at the fleeing Sentinel Slates and chased after them. It never gave the camp a second look. “Run!”

Someone exclaimed softly after the golden glow disappeared. Without hesitation, everyone ran at the speed of light.

......

*Crash!* The wolf pack ran past, kicking up a dust of sand and stones. The dust glittered a faint glow of gold. Noah and the party had been on the run without a break ever since he was disturbed from his rest state at the camp. 

From the pitch black darkness of the night to a fully risen sun, almost half a day had passed while on the run. However, the thought of the Golden Giant spurred the party on and nobody grumbled about the lack of rest.

“We were lucky the Golden Giant does not seem to have high intelligence! It only knows how to mindlessly chase after high energy life forms. If not, the stealth attempt yesterday would have failed. It was a really suspenseful situation…”

Noah could hear the bloke next to him mutter to himself. He himself was also secretly glad. Although he has advanced his magical powers and is considered to be someone of considerable power in the world of Mages, the Golden Giant was something that was entirely out of his league for now.

[However, the Golden Giant is an elemental species. It does not have a bloodline. If not, I would rather like to have a few drops of the Golden Giant’s blood for my experiments…] Noah’s eyes betrayed a glimpse of regret.

There were countless types of mythical species in this world. The Golden Giant belonged to the elemental species. Its whole body is made up of various type of elements and minerals. There is not even a drip of blood in it, naturally there will be no bloodline.

In ancient times, the paths to becoming a Mage were many. The Warlocks chose the path of the bloodline. And obviously, the Golden Giant chose a different path. There are different paths to reach the pinnacle. 

"Shall we stop? If we do not rest and recuperate our mental strength…” Lancey’s voice was heard from the front of the party. She travelled together with the old geezer on the Seated Lupin Wolf.

All Mages make use of the both their mental strength and magic power to perform miraculous magic. Due to the Golden Giant incident yesterday and the constant travelling, the six Mages were unable to stop to recuperate their mental strength. Looks of exhaustion were spread across their faces as their mana senses were spread out as far as possible.

"No need for that, we are yet to be out of the danger zone, the Golden Giant might catch up to us anytime soon…” The wind carried the old geezers reply though the party.

After hearing the old geezers reply, the party sank into a solemn silence and carried on with their hasty escape. The Mages feared the Golden Giant more than any other dangers in the Golden Desert.


	71. Chapter 71

*Whoosh Whoosh!* A gale carried up the sand, bringing about a glittering gold color. On the endless Golden Desert filled with death and danger, a pack of six large wolves padded across the soft sands at a relentless speed.

Upon the backs of the wolves, there sat a couple human silhouettes. “We are here! Before us is the Golden Oasis!” The old geezer studied the map and exclaimed brightly.

“Are we here at last?” the rider of a Seated Lupin Wolf raised his head slightly and said. With his astonishingly powerful eyesight, he looked into the distance and saw a blanket of green.

Ever since their encounter with the Golden Giant, Noah's party had been on edge, and had been easily startled by the slightest of things. They had only just started to relax after having been on the run for more than ten days. As a result, they also reached their destination at a faster time than they had originally planned.

This was the Golden Oasis, the only large water source in the Golden Desert. Also, it was the only traversable path through the Grand Canyon Margaret. The other paths were wrought with dangers that far surpassed the capabilities of an Officer Rank Mage.

Noah spotted a few large bird-like creatures in the far distance that were taking off and landing at the oasis. They were the Kary Vultures, the main culprits that occupied the land.

The six Mages stopped and stationed their Seated Lupin Wolves at a sand dune not far from the Golden Oasis. The Seated Lupin Wolves were great against some of the lower level life forms in the Golden Oasis.

However, against the adult Kary Vultures, which were comparable to a Paragon Rank Mage, they had no chance of surviving once trapped in their kill zone.

The Seated Lupin Wolves were still needed for the journey ahead. Furthermore, the wolves were borrowed. If the Wolves perished, a huge sum of mana crystals would be needed to compensate the handlers who were supposed to take back the wolves on the other side of the Grand Canyon.

“We can’t press on anymore! The Kary Vultures are capable of flight. We will surely be spotted by them from the air!” The old geezer surveyed the surroundings. “We need to conceal the position at which the Seated Lupin Wolves are situated as well!”

“I might be able to help in this aspect.” Noah let out a faint smile and waved his two hands at the shadow of the sand dune.

Under Noah’s hand, the black shadow warped and swiveled. As if a giant behemoth hiding in the shadows, it opened its maw and swallowed the entire sand dune.

“Darkness is the natural friend of concealment.” In the shadow of the darkness, the large wolves vanished. “Good job!” Lancey praised Noah.

In her eyes, although Noah was still just a budding Mage, she admired his nimble mind and weak, but practical spells. However, this was just a false front by Noah.

Thanks to his newly acquired Shadow Element body composition, he now possessed an extreme affinity and talent in the Shadow Element. Something of this caliber was now nothing for him. 

Upon hearing Lancey’s compliment, the big bloke incessantly let out a cold snort. “If it were up to me to do it….”

“Ok, ok! We are a party after all, why the need for that?” The old geezer interrupted the big bloke. “Our enemies at the moment are the Kary Vulture flock and their King!”

“Lancey, you shall explain the situation to the party!” Lancey stepped to the middle of the party and produced a blue gem from a small crevice in her chest region.

“This magic artifact is modelled to act as a spying eye, and can examine images within a ten kilometre radius!”

Lancey finished her explanation and placed the gem in her hands. She dripped a few drops of water from her water pouch onto it and chanted a few incantations.

A beam of light blue light was emitted from the gem. The light warped and stretched until it looked like a mirror’s surface. On the mirror like surface, a beautiful lake could be seen. 

Green shrubbery and coconut trees grew around it. Occasionally, large red birds could be seen ascending and descending from the forest.

The vision on the mirror surface continued to pan in. Noah could see the true appearance of the Kary Vultures. The Kary Vulture’s wingspan spanned 5 metres and was covered in scarlet feathers. Its talons looked cold and sharp. 

The pink bald patches on its head were a disgusting sight. A tumor-like muscle bulged on its curved and completely bald head.

There were more than a hundred of these Kary Vultures in the oasis. If they were all fully grown and under the leadership of an Officer Rank Kary Vulture King, the band of Mages stood no chance.

“More than a hundred? This amount is too much! Can we see the Kary Vulture King?” The old geezer hastily questioned.

“I will try my best!” Lancey was uncertain but continued to pan the mirror in the direction of the flock of Kary Vultures.

Over yonder, there stood a gigantic tree with a peculiar hollow that looked like a den. Hidden in it was an incomparably massive Kary Vulture.

While Lancey was trying to zoom in the mirror to get a closer look, the massive Kary Vulture seemed to notice her presence and let out an angry screech.

“Ga Ga!” It sounded like a crow, but somehow unexplainably different. Suddenly, the surrounding Kary Vultures in the flock were agitated and stirred up.

Following the angry cry, a terrifying sonic wave swept towards all four directions. “No way! It discovered my presence!” Lancey’s complexion changed for the worse.

*Crack!* The mirror shattered into pieces like a broken crystal. It turned into a blue glow and dropped onto the floor. “Ga Ga!” The Kary Vulture King’s screech echoed from the distance. The Kary Vultures shook their large red wings, and like trained soldiers split up into sections. 

They spread out like carpet that covered the sky and searched the surroundings, not missing a single area. “Sorry!” Lancey apologised with a look of embarrassment on her face.

"No problem! At least we saw the situation clearly, didn’t we?” The night shift Mage replied quickly. “That’s right! That’s right!?" The old geezer replied with a brief flash of shame across his face. It was him that allowed Lancey to search for the Kary Vulture King.

“Ga Ga!” The large Kary Vultures patrolled the sky for a long period of time, but it was to no avail. At last, they violently attacked some of the land creatures in the area. The Kary Vultures swooped up what looked appeared to be large lizards, and flew back into the oasis.

For Noah and the other Mages, it was an easy task to hide from the pursuit of the Kary Vultures. "Ok! Let’s discuss how we should deal with that goddamn flock of bastard birds." Below the ground, in a temporary hut crafted using magic, the six Mages regrouped.

“A hundred Kary Vultures with power levels similar to Paragon Rank, plus a Vulture King whose power is far beyond what we expected!” The old geezer looked at the other Mages.

“What else is there to do? Let’s follow the earlier plan and observe their hunting paths and patterns. We will then kill off the small hunting packs before mounting an assault into the oasis!” The big bloke was the not even the least bit concerned as he waved them off with his hands.

This was the plan that was discussed earlier — simple and practical. However, after the incident with the Golden Giant, the people in the party started to have a pressing sense of urgency and were unwilling to waste time on such plans.

Furthermore, the Golden Desert was the Golden Giant’s habitat, and they did not wish to bump into it again. “Alright! However, we have to increase the frequency of our attacks, and get through here quickly!”

Having observed Noah and the rest of the party approving this plan, the old geezer grudgingly agreed to it…

A black scorpion-like creature guided by the darkness stealthily crawled along the desert floor. Its hooked tail swung from side to side as it moved along. There was an unusual bright red colouring on it, which was obviously an indication of it being poisonous.

*Shuck!* All of a sudden, a muddy yellow tongue lashed across at speed unseen by the naked eye and pulled the scorpion into a sand dune.

*Boom!* The sand dune split open, revealing a muddy yellow lizard. The lizard was covered by bits and pieces of fish scales and had a large beautiful comb growing on its head.

*Zi Zi!* The lizard opened his mouth, and with one gulp and a movement of its neck muscles, the scorpion was eaten.

After ingesting its food, the lizard swayed its stocky body and used its front limbs to rapidly dig into the sand and bury itself in it.

"Ga Ga!" Almost immediately after the lizard buried itself, an unpleasant vulture screeching echoed in the night sky. *Whoosh!* Following the vulture’s cry, a violent gust of wind swept by.

The large Kary Vulture swooped from midair, and using its black talons, it knocked the sand dune apart and clenched its claws. *Kacha!* The sharp black talons directly hooked into the flesh of the lizard, and the lizard let out a howl of pain, violently flipping its stocky body.

“Ga Ga!” The Kary Vulture let out a screech of delight and pecked at the lizard with its hooked beak. *Pu!* The mud yellow lizard’s skull had been split. Its brain matter and blood left a mess on the sands.

The Kary Vulture grabbed onto its prey tightly and began to fly back to its den. Although normal vultures liked rotting meat, the Kary Vultures obviously preferred to ingest fresh and living mammals.

The mud yellow lizard was two metres long, but in comparison to the Kary Vulture’s stature, the bird looked like it was grabbing a small fish.

“Latent Fireball!” Somewhere from within the darkness, several crimson colored fireballs suddenly appeared and fused right in front of the Kary Vulture that was carrying its prey. 

In a flash, the fireballs turned into one big fireball, and just like a meteorite, crashed into the Kary Vulture's body. *Bang!* Without a sound, the Kary Vulture, along with its dead prey, were reduced to ashes.

Upon exploding, several flames that were left over shot out in all directions in the sky and, like shrapnel, hit the other vultures, lighting them on fire. "Ga ga!" The remaining Kary Vultures were quickly finished off with some Paragon Rank spells.

Following the attacks, the ground vibrated and the sand parted, revealing Noah’s face. For these few days, he had been on watch in the area to hunt down those Kary Vultures that had swooped down looking for food.


	72. Chapter 72

A few days passed, and many Kary Vulture corpses littered the sand dunes. "That's the fourth group today." Noah exited a sand bunker and left in another direction.

These past few days, he experimented with some of the Shadow Element spells he received from the memories of the Shadow Clan assassins. The result was satisfying; in terms of Shadow Element magic, he has the potential to become a great assassin.

"I will have to work on my body though. I'm still far from my past life self." *Weng Weng!* At this moment, a pocket-sized diary that was hanging like a keychain on Noah's side trembled.

Noah opened the diary and flipped to the page that was shaking. This pocket-sized diary was only the size of a child’s palm. On the faint yellow page, a magic imprint that had the shape of 3 rocks stacked together was letting off a slight glow and trembling.

Noah reached out his finger and lightly dabbed on the magic imprint. “Haha! Xander, you have killed a lot of them haven’t you? The Vulture King where I am at has already dispatched all of the Kary Vultures, so be careful when you conceal yourself!”

The voice of the huge bloke sounded from the magic imprint. This pocket-sized diary was one of the ways Mages used to collect the magic imprints of their friends, professors, colleagues and other people that they wanted to keep in contact with.

Some Mages, however, preferred to have the magic imprints inscribed on their bodies. One example was the huge bloke. Noah saw that one of the huge bloke’s arms was fully covered with the magic imprints.

Although it was rather troublesome, Noah preferred to use the diary to collect the secret imprints. “Alright, I got it.” Noah said to the secret imprint. Afterwards, he closed the diary and hurriedly left the area.

Very soon, Noah saw the dark figures on the far horizon. They were the shadows of the Vulture King, which, having been enraged, brought the entire flock with it.

However, compared to a few days ago, when they could cover the sky, the flock was now rather thinly spread out. Their numbers had dwindled from over a hundred to less than half, at around forty or fifty. This was the fruit of Noah and the others’ labours from over the last few days.

Even from this distance, Noah could sense the violent energy waves radiating from this furious Vulture King. “Ga Ga!” With the Vulture King in the centre, the tremendous energy waves continued to radiate into the surroundings. This kingly figure was venting its frustration and rage at the continuous loss of its subordinates!

Creatures like this, who had reached the stage of a Ranked being, often had a layer of defensive force field around them. This meant that attacks of Paragon Rank or lower would be completely negated no matter how many attacks they received.

Creatures like these often possessed immense strength and vitality and even had innate spells which were terribly difficult to deal with.

Looking at the Vulture King snarling above a few piles of ashes, the other Kary Vultures in the surroundings also cawed in anguish. Noah stared intently at the Vulture King before leaving the area.

Deep in the night, in an underground room that was temporarily carved. “Today we have killed another 9 Kary Vultures, well done!” The old geezer smiled. “Right now, those damned trashy birds only have a strength of 50 odd!” The huge bloke was also excited.

The materials from a Vulture King, which rivalled the existence of an Officer Rank Mage, were extremely precious. Moreover, they could also reap the rewards from both sides that governed the Great Canyon Margaret.

"However, the Kary Vultures that are still alive now very seldom hunt for their prey in the areas that we have set up. There are also signs of them relocating soon…”

“We have to hurry and find a way. If not, we could lose this bonus bounty reward…” Lancey, who was standing on the side, poured cold water on their conversation.

The families governing both sides of the Great Canyon Margaret did mention that they could pass through the Golden Oasis when the vulture flock had relocated. 

However, against this Vulture King that had its forces greatly reduced, and a bountiful reward assigned to it, Lancey and the others naturally did not want to let the Vulture King go.

“Perhaps we could…” After some silence, the old geezer suggested an idea. 

......

A fireball-like sun was hanging up high in the sky, and heat waves rising from the desert distorted the view.

Inside a stone forest that was temporarily created by spells, Noah and the other five were huddled up. “How is it? Can that old geezer do it?” The huge bloke spoke offhandedly as usual.

"You have to believe that old man. He is an Officer Rank Mage, after all!” Lancey’s brows furrowed. “Has the ambush been set up?”

With a flash of a black light, Noah came out from a side of the stone forest with the black light still glittering around him. “The side that I am managing has been completed.”

“It’s all set up now!” From the other side, the night shift Magus and the other quiet one spoke. “Great! As long as that old geezer is able to lure the Vulture King here, I will rip that damned bird apart!” The huge bloke clenched his fist, his knuckles crackling.

Looking on, he was a magician that specialised in physical training and the reinforcement of his body, possessing strong muscles and strength.

[For the materials of the Vulture King, even the old geezer is spending a lot of effort.] Noah figured that if not for some precious ingredient the Vulture King had, the old geezer would not be this zealous and even offer to be a bait to lure it over.

“They’re coming.” The range of his mana sense allowed Noah to discover the other party first. Very soon, on the horizon, a thinly spread layer of black figures appeared.

There was also a human figure, with a green hurricane engulfing his body as he wildly rushed over. “Everyone, return to your individual posts, and pay heed to the orders! Quick!” Lancey shouted nervously.

In a flash, the Mages who were present disappeared. Closer, even closer! The old geezer dashed extremely fast. From his concealed area, Noah could even distinctly see that on the sides of his wrinkled face, blood continuously flowed out from both of his ears.

*Whoosh!* The old geezer rapidly entered the stone forest, at the same time transmitting his voice. “Be careful of the Vulture King’s sarcoma. It is able to emit a sound attack. I took a hit from it earlier!”

After seeing the stone forest, the Vulture King hesitated. However, thinking about the prey it was chasing, whose energy waves were not much different from its own, and the fact that it had even killed its children…

“Ga Ga!” The Vulture King’s eyes turned bloodshot as it led the flock into the territory of the stone forest.


	73. Chapter 73

“The target has reached the kill zone. Begin!” The hasty transmission passed through the magic imprint and simultaneously sounded out in five different locations.

Upon hearing the transmission, Noah’s hand radiated a scarlet red glow, and he proceeded to press his hands against the obelisk in front of him.

*Bang!* A circular wave of tremendous magical power erupted violently. The colorful spell glowed, and trapped the Kary Vultures within it like a cage.

“Ga Ga!” The Kary Vultures screeched furiously while the tumour-like muscles on their bald heads grew in size and glowed a bright red, finally culminating in a violent explosion.

*Ting!* The resulting ear-piercing sound wave continued to reverberate within the cage. The remaining Kary Vultures continued to vibrate their tumour like muscles, amplifying the sound wave in the process.

“This kind of attack…” Noah looked in interest, the sound waves pounded on his skull like a hammer. Contrary to others, he did not fall into a state of dizziness thanks to his soul. Under the agitation of the sound waves, the ring of light on top of the cage started to flicker and fade.

“The attack coming from such a lowly beast is stronger than expected. Furthermore, it can be amplified by the rest of the flock. If the Kary Vultures from before were still present, they would have surely broken free from the cage!” The night shift Mage said.

“Plan A is not working, time for plan B!” Lancey’s exasperated voice emitted from the secret imprint. “Copy.” Noah whispered to the secret imprint and began chanting a magic spell. 

“Let’s go.” Noah took a last look at the Kary Vultures that were still struggling in the cage and fled the scene.

*Bang!* 10 seconds later, at the stone forest, a violent explosion occurred. The sound of the explosion filled the area, and black smoke shot up into the horizon.

In the blaze, colorful and fine potion smoke occasionally dispersed. To increase the power of the spell, Noah had added a ton of explosive and conflagratory potions to the mix.

“Haha! Beasts are still just beasts!” Looking at the Kary Vultures that struggled in the fiery blaze, the big bloke, who was also present, laughed out loud, condescendingly.

Two streams of blood flowed down from the big bloke’s ears. Evidently, the Kary Vultures’ attack had done considerable damage to him.

“This Kary Vulture King has realized its racial talents. The tumour like muscle on its head can be used to emit sound wave attacks, and it can be amplified by the flock. The level of danger will have been increased by at least two levels. When I get back, I must demand more money from those despicable merchants.”

The old geezer cursed.“Talks about the price increase can be discussed later. Where is the big fellow?” Noah pointed at the heart of the explosion.

Slowly, the blaze started to die down. From the original stone, forest emerged a large, soot covered, bird-like figure.

Half of the scarlet feathers on this Kary Vulture were burned off as a result of the explosion, and the other half of them were covered in black soot. There was also a large blood stain on its bald head. It was a funny sight, but Noah and the rest of the party did not dare to let their guard down.

“The explosion just now had an estimated power of 30 degrees or higher. How unexpected…” Lancey hung her jaw open in shock.

“After all, it is not a weak bodied Mage but a high-level species with a powerful body.” Noah said quickly “Go forward and surround it! It is about to escape!”

“Damn it!” The old geezer reluctantly looked at the Kary Vulture King, which was already in flight, and cursed. He rapidly chanted an incantation.

Following his chant, a faint azure breeze converged, and formed two large azure wings on his back. “I executed both the baiting and the intercepting, so I must get a larger share of the loot!” The old geezer blustered. He vibrated the wings on his back and floated into the air.

*Whoosh!* The old geezer traveled at a very quick pace. He was as nimble in the air as he was on the ground. From the looks of it, he had much practice in air combat.

“Ga Ga!” The Kary Vulture King angrily cried out. Sadly, a large portion of its wings were damaged by the explosion, and it was no match for the old geezer in the air.

After hovering and swooping for a while, the old geezer grabbed an opportunity. With a green ray, he pierced one of the Kary Vulture King’s wings.

*Peng!* With one wing pierced, the Kary Vulture King lost its balance and crashed down into the ground. A large cloud of sand floated around the downed Vulture.

“Advance!” Noah and the rest of the party immediately rushed up and surrounded the Kary Vulture King. Blood flowed out from the multiple wounds on the Kary Vulture King. 

Looking at the Mages who surrounded it and the human figure floating in the sky above him, its eyes betrayed a sign of hopelessness.

“Haha! Goddamn beast, I shall tear you apart!” The big bloke laughed out coldly. He channeled mana through the muscles on his entire body as he leapt at the injured Kary Vulture King.

“Ga Ga!” The Kary Vulture King sounded an abnormally high-pitched shriek and shook its wings. What remained of its unharmed wing slashed across like a knife, with feathers erect like steel blades. The wing clashed with the big bloke’s fist.

*Bang!* A dull explosion sounded out in midair and shook the ground below. The big bloke quickly retreated, his arm letting out noises like the popping noises of popcorn. His bones were obviously broken.

The Kary Vulture King let out another screech, and its body turned red. It looked like the Kary Vulture King was pumping all of its blood into its head. The originally shattered tumour on its head begun to rise and swell again.

“Careful, he is about to let loose a sound wave attack!” Noah rapidly shouted out. He grabbed the tumour with his palms. ”Restrict!”

*Sssii!* The countless black tentacle-like shadows reached out from the Kary Vulture King’s shadow and bound it tightly. Extra effort was placed in tying up the Kary Vulture King’s skull region.

“All together!” Lancey yelled wildly. Together with the other two silent Mages, she attacked the Kary Vulture King. Various intensely fluctuating magical spells landed on the Kary Vulture King’s body.

The spells tore apart the Kary Vulture King’s chest, causing large amounts of blood to spurt out of it.

*Kacha!* The old geezer, who had been floating in midair, let out an emerald air-blade attack, which chopped off the bound tumour.

The Kary Vulture King screeched a couple of times as the light in its eyes started to extinguish, and it thudded onto the floor.

*Pa!*The old geezer landed on the ground, and his magical green wings disappeared. The six Mages surrounded the Kary Vulture King’s corpse. They all had complex looks on their faces.

“What a chore this has been! If not for the additional remuneration from the pub, this would have been a complete loss!”

The lack of serious injuries on the party was a poor reflection of the difficulty level of killing off the Kary Vulture King. They had to spend a lot of time to prepare the traps and come up with the various materials needed for the potions. 

On top of that, the fact that they needed 6 Mages to complete the task proved how big of a challenge it was.

The materials that were scavenged from the Kary Vulture King’s corpse were barely enough to cover the expenses of the effort taken by the party. If anyone was dead or seriously injured from the incident, this would have been counted as a big loss.

Mages were a rational bunch. They could calmly perform cost-benefit analysis under different circumstances. If the cost was greater than the benefits, they would avoid doing the job.

This time, if not for the fact that the Kary Vulture King was obstructing the way towards their destination, the party would have left such a high-level creature alone.

“No matter what, the fact that our party has sustained no serious injuries is good news!” The old geezer smiled widely and said. ”Now let’s discuss how to distribute the plunder from our efforts…”

Afterwards, true to Noah’s expectations, the old geezer claimed the majority of the feathers and the pair of large wings with the argument that he had put in the most work. From the looks of his happy face, he must have needed it urgently for an experiment or for crafting.

The rest of the party followed suit and claimed what they felt was fair for the amount of work they had done.

Noah took only a bit of the blood and flesh from the tumour and nothing else. As a bloodline user, he was extremely interested in the bloodline of high-level creatures. 

Although the benefits of the Kary Vultures’ bloodline were not documented in the Book of Blood Synthesis, Noah wanted to experiment to see if he could extract anything from it.

At night, in the Golden Oasis, the 6 Mages cleaned up the remains of the Kary Vulture King and refilled up their water supplies in the nearby water source. The Seated Lupin Wolves, which had been hidden for a long time, happily cleaned themselves in the lake.

In a glowing tent nearby, Noah looked at the surface of the tumour, which he had retrieved with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

Noah placed sound isolating spells, and immediately pulled on a pair of white rubber gloves. He held out his thumb and pressed on the tumour.

The blood on the tumour flesh has dried completely by now. There were bloodstains on it and it was shriveled. “It is very light, there seem to be meridians and air sacs…”

Noah’s eyes focused on remembering everything. Using his other hand, he used a scalpel to break the surface of the tumour.

Inside the flesh, there was an oddly small amount of muscle and blood vessels, and it was comprised mainly of small air sacs.

Many of the air sacs were layered over each other, forming what looked like a lattice shape that resembled a beehive. “This kind of composition…”

......

After the experiment was finished, Noah cleaned up his tent, sat on the ground and began contemplating to himself. [Sound vessel composition and sound wave attack…]

The path after the Golden Oasis was much less dangerous. They did not have any further encounters with powerful, high-level life forms such as the Golden Giant.

......

Andre Town was a small town located on the other side of the Grand Canyon Margaret. The Kary Vultures had caused the town to become empty and desolate. However, upon exiting the Grand Canyon, they saw a few people.

“May I know if you people are master Lancey and company?” There was already someone standing by the roadside. He was clad in the pub’s working attire. Upon sighting Noah and his party, he bowed respectfully. 

”The incident with the Kary Vultures was already relayed to us by a secret imprint. Please follow me back to the pub to collect your rewards…”

“Ok!” Lancey and the old geezer stepped out among the group and gave their agreement. After reaching the pub the attendants unhitched their luggage, and with a whistle, the Seated Lupin Wolves hurried into their feeding area at the rear of the pub.


	74. Chapter 74

“It’s only renting for a few months, but it costs five hundred magic crystals. Your boss sure knows how to make money!” The big bloke complained.

“In fact, we generally charge one thousand magic crystals per rental of the Seated Lupin Wolf. We only charged the minimal maintenance costs this time, as you Sirs took on the task…”

The smiling waiter explained. As the old geezer arrived, he immediately threw the Vulture King’s skull onto the counter. “Mission accomplished! Have a look!”

From behind the counter, a white-bearded, bespectacled old man in a manager’s uniform came out. However, from the energy waves exuding from him, he also seemed to be an Officer Rank Mage.

The white-bearded old man carefully examined the Vulture King’s skull for a long while, only then did he put it away. “It is indeed the Vulture King’s head. According to the agreement, each one of you will be able to get….”

The white bearded man was nimble. He immediately took out bags filled with magic crystals and magic materials and gave it to everyone. It seemed like he had prepared this beforehand.

“In actuality, I belong to the great Black family…” After completing the delivery, the old geezer put on a kind smile and extended an olive branch to Noah and the rest.

These kinds of big families would recruit foreign magicians from time to time to further strengthen their family. Moreover, Noah and the rest had decent strength, and since they had come from the eastern part of the Grand Canyon, they were not likely to be spies sent by their enemies.

As long as they didn’t have a massive headache that they brought with them, it was likely that the local large magisteriums would be most willing to offer shelter for such talents.

Noah noticed that the big bloke’s face obviously displayed his intention to agree. The two magicians who were together, however, seemed indecisive. As for Lancey and the old geezer, they did not hesitate to reject the offer.

Noah himself did not consider this option. When magicians joined other big families, it was because they needed mana crystals, a place to stay temporarily, magic resources and the like. 

Noah decided; in this life, he will only join the factions that benefit him! If he can gain benefits from that, good, if he can rob them while he's at it, even better! The Black Family did not fall into either of the two categories.

“Come! In any case, we’ve operated as comrades! How about we go and have a drink?” The leader old geezer suggested.

“Maybe not. I still have other matters to attend to, let’s keep in touch…” Lancey left in a hurry, seeming like she had an urgent matter.

“I’ll pass as well. It has been a tiring journey. I just want to find a place to have a good sleep.” Noah rejected him with a smile.

He had only become temporary comrades with these people to hurry along with the journey, so there was not much friendship between him and them. Besides, Noah had no love for alcohol, and would usually avoid it.

Following Noah's leave, the big bloke decided to accept the Black Family's offer. The white bearded old man was all smiles as the two left to another room. The two silent Mages went for a drink with the old geezer.

After walking out from the Broken Axe Pub, Noah glanced around before striding toward the middle of the town while pulling out his iron token, a proof of a middle grade Alchemist.

He found a dark alleyway and hid, taking off the meat jelly artifact and placing a drop of blood on it. He now took an appearance of a young, energetic man with blond hair. With his new identity he strolled out to the plaza in the center.

There were over ten large bird monsters parked in the vast plaza. This kind of bird monster was known as the Green Bogobo Bird. They did not belong to the Monster Beast classification and were instead just mutated birds. 

They had very gentle tempers and were easily trained by humans. However, due to their small numbers, it would usually require the strength of a high ranking noble family in order to create this kind of Flying Bogobo Fleet.

Although this kind of Green Bogobo Bird may not be comparable to flying type monsters in terms of speed, they still had extremely great endurance. As long as one of them had a full meal, it could fly at a steady speed for up to four or five days. 

Its ability to carry a load was also outstanding. A fully grown Green Bogobo Bird could easily carry loads up to five or six times its weight and still fly for a long period of time.

Beside each Green Bogobo Bird, there was a long queue. On the wooden stairs beside the Green Bogobo Bird, Noah could even see a person in uniform collecting the boarding tickets.

Currently, there was a very long queue in front of the ticket counter and Noah stood in queue quietly as he waited for his turn. 

“Mister, where do you wish to travel to?” A lady’s voice sounded from his front. “Desert City, Tageer Desert.” Noah glanced at the fairly beautiful lady in front of him as he said coldly, while also sounding a bit arrogant.

The lady noticed the iron token on Noah's robe and immediately changed her tone. "Sir, are you an Alchemist?" Noah coldly harrumphed in return. "Is there a problem?" 

“Not at all, not at all. It is just that according to the town’s regulations, an Alchemist can enjoy the service of the Flying Transportation Company for free. Therefore, please follow me. We have a flying steed that is specially prepared for alchemists.” Seeing Noah nod his head, the lady hurriedly shook her head and respectfully said with a smile.

Under the envious and respectful gazes that surrounded him, Noah looked around with a cold look before following the lady who had exited the counter.

On the way, the slightly beautiful lady who was walking in front of him had intentionally or unintentionally repeatedly shook her full and narrow waist, forming a sexy and fiery curve. 

Although her face was not superb, it was still sufficient to prompt some heat in a person’s lower abdomen when combined with her tight uniform dress. Noah gave her a quick look of disgust before withdrawing his eyes.

After walking through a walkway, an extremely huge bird that was as large as a Green Bogobo Bird appeared in Noah’s sight. Sweeping his gaze at this somewhat fierce looking huge monster, Noah was a little interested to realize that this was actually a flying monster beast.

From its aura, the beast appeared to have been at Paragon Rank and Noah could feel flowing Wind type energy particles surrounding it's body. Clearly, the flying speed of this kind of monster was extremely fast.

On the back of the bird monster, there was a small house that was firmly built on it using a special type of wood. This type of wood was extremely agile yet firm. There was, however, very little of it available.

The interior of the house was further divided into a few small rooms. Noah glanced at the house and found that two of the rooms were already occupied. From the robes on their bodies, they were obviously all Alchemists.

“Sir, this is the Flying Beast that will head to Desert City, of the Tageer Desert. That city is the closest to the Lidour Kingdom border.” Stopping in front of the flying monster bird, the lady in the uniform respectfully said.

“Yes.” Nodding his head slightly, Noah stepped on the wooden stairs up onto the bird monster's back. Under the resentful gaze from the woman behind him, he entered one of the empty rooms. Noah knew why the woman gave him that glare. As he was an Alchemist, he would normally be entitled to "personal service".

As for what it meant by personal service, any man would understand… The reason for the action of the lady along the way was because she hoped Noah would choose her to be the female servant accompanying him during the journey. Unfortunately, Noah was disgusted by such things, so her ‘affection’ was naturally ignored.

Not long after Noah boarded the monster, another Alchemist also boarded it. After waiting for a little longer, Noah finally felt the huge bird monster slowly flapp it's wings. Wind type particles also began to shroud the underside of the beast and lifted its huge body into the sky.

Following a sharp cry, the monster, under the control of a Ranked Warrior, suddenly shot to the sky and began swiftly flying toward the Tageer Desert.

Seated by the window in the room, Noah watched the faint fog of clouds fly past him. Once he finished observing the outside, he sat down and placed many sound isolating spells. 

"You can come out now." Niolo flew out of the demonic spellbook and looked around. "Living the high life again, Noah my friend?" He looked outside at the ground. "You can do what you want, but don't create too much trouble, Niolo." The demon soul nodded and Noah left it to it's devices.

There was quite a distance from Andre Town to Desert City. Even with the speed of this flying bird monster, it would at least require three days of flight before they could reach Desert City. 

The bright sky slowly became dark when Noah, who was in a meditation pose, was suddenly awoken by numerous strange sounds.

Slowly opening his eyes, Noah saw that the crystal lamp within his room was already beginning to release a faint light, expelling the darkness of the night from the room.

Noah released his mana sense and looked at the room to his left. From within it, the panting sound of a man and the seductive groan of a woman was unceasingly pouring into his mind like a devil’s sound.

And next to them, invisible, flew Niolo with a delighted face. "Niiiicee. That's the way!" Like a commentator in sport, he observed the couple who made love and would occasionally secretly whisper something into the man's ear.

The man would then either speed up or change the rhythm of his thrusts, which the woman would follow up with soft moans. "......." Noah had nothing to say.

He took out the ancient Alchemy book and began decrypting the language inside. "This potion is named "Tears of Mary", and it can supposedly increase the quality of one's mana and magic." 

Noah never heard about such a potion. But, this meant that it is should be something rather valuable. "Let's see, the supplementary ingredients aren't anything too rare, the main ingredient... is human souls?" 

Noah was stunned. He read it again two times. Indeed, this potion actually required human souls as a main ingredient! "And not just any souls, these souls have to be tortured to the point of losing their human form. Quite a devious potion!"


	75. Chapter 75

Three days later, the bird monster arrived at it's destination. "I'm back, Noah my friend." As the wooden stairs were placed next to the bird monster's back, Niolo returned to Noah's room in a good mood.

"I see you weren't bored." Noah commented blandly. "It was truly fun. We should do this ag-" "No. Get in the spellbook." The demon soul listened obediently and went to sleep. 

As Noah was exiting the house, he saw the couple from three nights prior. Their legs were shaking, and they looked tired, their clothes ragged. It was evident that under Niolo's control, these two must've had sex the entire time until arrival.

Noah looked around the Desert City. The air was extremely dry and hot. Blazing sunlight shined down from the sky and grilled the vast ground, causing it to emit hot air that cooked people. That wave of hot air slowly rose, causing some distortions in the surrounding areas.

According to common sense, this could not be considered a good environment and there should not be people who could have a carefree feeling in this environment, including Ranked Mages.

In this place, if you aren't a Warrior, you'd have a pretty big problem with the heat unless you had some special way of cooling yourself down. This is why, in the Tageer Desert, you would see much more Warriors who came here for various reasons, then Mages.

Walking around the city, Noah observed the pedestrians. Among these pedestrians, the men largely revealed their upper body to show that their skin was dark and strong. When one looked at it, they appeared forthright. 

As for the occasional women that passed by, their skin was also slightly dark but it was more of a bronze color. The women here were not as shy and reserved as those in the kingdoms. The tight skin blouse they wore only covered their chest area and some areas a little lower. Their narrow waists were boldly exposed. 

A short skirt or shorts covered their long and tight thighs. When they walked, their attractive waists shook, showing unique, seductive charm and loveliness.

At the city’s entrance, over ten soldiers wearing armor were carrying long spears as they shouted to people entering the city to pay the entrance tax. Seeing that these soldiers ignored the heat and wore full armor, Noah felt trouble. Were they expecting an invasion of monsters?

Perhaps it was because the weather was very hot but the soldiers who were standing guard at this place had become a little irritated. Numerous rude, loud abuses continued to hasten the pedestrians entering the city.

Noah walked over and coldly harrumphed. "You there, why are you all on such guard? Are you expecting some attack?" The guard, already irritated, turned around angrily. 

"Who dares to-" As he was talking, his gaze fell on Noah's iron token, and his angry face immediately transformed into a fawning one. "Sir, my sincerest apologies, I didn't notice you before. I beg for your forgiveness." 

With a bow, the soldier continued on. "Sir, recently there have been some snake people in the Tageer Desert who are finding trouble. If you intend to leave the city, you need to be more careful." Noah found this a little surprising. Snake people usually live in the very center of the Tageer Desert, why would they come here, to the very outskirts?

"Hmm, I see. Here, your compensation." Noah threw a potion at the soldier and left. "Thank you for your generosity, Lord Alchemist!" Once given a precious potion, the soldier's voice became even more respectful than before.

[Snake people, huh... I hope it's nothing...] As he was thinking, Noah visited a medicinal shop under the Alchemist Guild and bought some medicine that can repel snakes. The Snake People in the Tageer Desert are most proficient in ordering poisonous snakes to attack. Being careful wouldn't hurt him.

Next, he bought many litres of water and stored them in his spatial ring. Usually, one would also need a map to traverse the desert, but thanks to Noah's memory, buying a map was unnecessary for him. As it was getting dark, he spent the night in Desert City.

......

The golden colored sand was the main tune within this vast desert. Violent winds carried the sand, engulfing the space between the land and the sky while howling unceasingly. 

On a sand dune, Noah, who was releasing his mana sense, stood still and then began walking into another direction. It had been over ten days since he had entered the Tageer Desert.

"Noah, my friend, have you finally gone insane?" Niolo flew around Noah, bewildered. "What do you mean?" "This is the third random sand dune you've stood on and then left. What are you even doing?" 

"I'm looking for a legendary treasure of the legends." Noah answered simply. "Oh, what kind of treasure?" Noah gave Niolo a glance before answering. "The Heavenly White Flame." 

Niolo's expression changed to shock. "So you are familiar with the Heavenly Flame?" "There's no way I could not be!" Niolo shrieked in fear like a child scared of stories about monsters. 

"The Heavenly Flame is a flame that originated in Heaven! It's a one shot kill for any demon that touches it, no matter the Rank!" "Oh." Noah touched his chin in thought. "I heard that it's many times more powerful than ordinary flame magic." 

"It's horrifying. That flame can allow a Paragon Rank Mage to instantly kill a General Rank! It also burns away all manner of spiritual beings and souls." Noah looked a little surprised. An attack of that power is just insane.

"I see. It'll come in handy." Noah smiled at the thought of owning such a powerful weapon. If he used it when his Rank was higher, then only Sovereigns could have any hope of surviving against him. [Looks like paying a lot of crystals to that greedy info broker payed off.]

In his past life, as Noah was often on the run, he would hide his identity and rely on gathering information through rumors around taverns or information brokers. What he thought was pointless information then was now more valuable than mana crystals.

*Groan* Noah noticed that his stomach grumbled. He decided to sit down and have a meal. Suddenly, he heard something coming from a nearby sand dune. There, a human figure was fleeing in a terrible state. As the figure was descending from the sand dune, a moment of carelessness caused him to roll down the sand dune.

Noah watched the human figure roll all the way down until he reached a spot a short distance from him. With no reaction, he continued eating his meal. 

A few moments later, the man who had fell gradually opened his eyes. He stared at Noah who had appeared in front of him and was initially alarmed. When he noticed that Noah did not have any ill intentions, he sighed in relief.

"Friend…” Seeing that Noah had turned around and walked away, the man was a little startled. Immediately, he hurriedly said in a hoarse voice. “Friend, please wait. Our mercenary company was attacked by Snake-People. Now they are in a life threatening situation. Can you go to the Rock Desert City to help call for reinforcements!”

“I don’t have the time.” Without turning around, Noah waved his hand and said indifferently. Why should he help someone for free? Mages operated only on profits. If there was nothing to be gained from helping this man, then no sane Mage would do it.

"Friend, wait!” Seeing that Noah was gradually walking further away, the man clenched his teeth and wiggled his body, using all his strength to shout. “Friend, please help. If the team can be saved, we, the Desert Metal Mercenary Company will definitely reward you heftily.”

After the man shouted, the young man in the distance who was about to disappear into a sandstorm suddenly paused. An instant later, he turned around and walked back, arriving by the man’s side under the latter’s gaze which was filled with surprise.

"Desert Metal Mercenary Troop? The Rock Desert City’s Desert Metal Mercenary Troop?” Noah blinked his eyes as he observed the man. 

“Yes… has Friend heard of our mercenary company?” Seeing the situation, the man could not tell whether Noah had ill or good intentions to the Desert Metal Mercenary Troop. 

However, under such circumstances, he could only brace himself and reply. “The name of your company leader…?”

“Radley Stampher… Dylan Stampher…” The man licked his dry lips and carefully answered. “Oh…” Nodding his head slightly, the surprise on Noah’s face grew a bit. After which, Noah handed him a potion. “Drink this, it'll will remove the snake’s poison.”

“Thank you, Friend.” The man gratefully said as he hurriedly took the potion and drank it. “This is a healing medicine. Apply some by yourself and there should not be too much of an issue. Once you apply the medicine, bring me to where your small mercenary team is.” 

Noah took out a small bottle of healing medicine from his spatial ring and threw it to the man. After which, he stood up and patted his hands.

“Uh? Go where?” Hearing Noah’s words, the man was startled. He hurriedly tried to stand up. “Friend, that won’t do. There are eight Snake-People attacking our small team. among them, there are three Paragon Ranks!”

“Friend, you should just hurry to Rock Desert City to help us pass a message to the mercenary company. The company leader and the others will hurry over. The distance isn’t that far.” The man bitterly persuaded.

“Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up, apply the medicine and lead the way. I naturally have the confidence if I am doing this. Otherwise, by the time reinforcements come, those people of yours would all have been killed.” Noah rolled his eyes and hurried him.

Hearing Noah’s words, the man looked at Noah's confident appeareance strangely. [Can he really do anything there? He is by himself. But, he's right, I don't know how much the rest can endure...]

Letting out a bitter laugh, the man applied the healing medicine on his thigh before he stood up while trembling. His finger pointed toward the sand dune and said. “It’s that way, a short distance away.”

Glancing at the sand dune, Noah nodded his head slightly. He grabbed the man’s arm and abruptly stepped on the sand’s surface. Following a muffled sound of explosion, a huge sand pit on the sand’s surface was formed from the shock. 

Borrowing the reverse push force, Noah and that man’s figure were suddenly shot up the sand dune. On the sand dune, Noah swept past a great distance in a lightning like manner with each step. 

Finally, he stopped on a towering sand surface. He threw the shocked man in his hand onto the ground and took a step forward, looking at the huge group of people that had appeared at the lower part of the desert.


	76. Chapter 76

On the lower part of the desert, ten mercenaries carrying weapons in their hands had their backs facing each other. Around them were eight creatures with strange appearances surrounding them. 

These creatures had a human head and body but at the area where the legs were supposed to be, they had a huge snake tail. As the snake tail swung about, it released a ‘chi chi’ sound that caused people to feel a chill.

[I wonder if can gain something from their bloodline...] Ever since Noah inherited the Book of Blood Synthesis he had wondered if it was possible to add bloodline abilities of creatures to himself without taking in their bloodline.

“Friend… Sir, they are a small team from our Desert Metal Mercenary Company. Originally, we had intended to hunt for monsters but we did not expect to be ambushed by these guys…” The man’s gaze respectfully swept across Noah’s back. 

The speed Noah had just displayed had already let this man know that the young man in front of him who appeared fairly young was a strong person who hid his strength.

“Ah.” Nodding his head, Noah’s gaze once again swept across the ten mercenaries. There were eight men and two women in the group of ten. His gaze drifted among them and finally landed on a gentle and beautiful lady’s figure.

This lady was young. Her pretty face was exquisite but the somewhat raised faint eyebrows of hers faintly carried an untamed feeling. Looking at her disposition, it could be pictured that this flower in the desert may be beautiful but its body was covered in long thorns.

The clothes the lady wore were bold and sexy. She wore a shirt that merely covered her chest area and some skin under it, leaving her sexy and pretty narrow waist exposed to everyone’s sight. Below her short skin skirt, her sexy long legs were revealed. 

Noah, who was standing above, could see that there were a number of obscene gazes among the snake-people which repeatedly swept across the pretty narrow waist and the tightly wrapped thighs.

“Kill them, leave the women!” The triangle pupils of the leader of the group of snake-people swept over the lady’s body. His voice was both cold and husky and carried a little obscenity. The nature of a snake person was licentious and they naturally yearned for women.

Hearing the order from their leader, the faces of the surrounding few snake-people were immediately swarmed with bloodthirstiness. They opened their mouths and let out their scarlet red snake tongue.

“Everyone, be careful. Hubert had already returned to get help. As long as we can endure for a while, we will be saved!” Seeing the Snake-People’s action, that sexy lady pressed her sleek red lips together and called out in a cold voice.

Hearing this, the surrounding mercenaries were slightly inspired. However, the hands which were tightly gripping their weapons were still filled with perspiration. 

The highest level among them was merely a single Paragon Rank Neela herself while the other party had three. With this kind of difference… they did not know if they could endure until the reinforcements arrived.

“Kill them!” The leader of the Snake-People coldly laughed and waved his hand. The surrounding Snake-People who had been eyeing the group menacingly immediately charged at the mercenaries with sinister faces, intending to kill.

Just as the Snake-People were beginning to attack, a sharp sound of wind breaking suddenly sounded in the air. A black shadow abruptly flew across the skyline. Finally, like a lightning bolt it heavily landed in the space between the mercenaries and the Snake-People with a loud bang.

The yellow sand gradually dispersed and a young man with red hair slowly appeared in everyone’s sight. The sudden appearance of a young man with red hair caused both sides to be a little stunned. A moment later, however, the side with the mercenaries gradually became calm. 

Since the one who arrived was a human, they believed that he would at the very least not help the Snake-People. The group of Snake-People, upon seeing Noah, this uninvited guest, became furious. The triangle-shaped pupils of the Snake-People’s leader coldly swept toward Noah. 

Without saying anything he waved his hand and two Paragon Rank Snake-People swung their tails and charged at Noah with fierce expressions. *Swoosh!* Once the Snake-People were three meters away, Noah effortlessly slashed downwards with his hand.

"Aargh!" The two Paragon Rank Snake-People were cut in two, their blood dying the sand. "What?!" Watching Noah with his mana slash, both the Snake-People leader and the ten mercenaries had their mouths wide open. 

Their faces were filled with astonishment as they stared at the young man with stunned eyes. It was difficult for them to imagine how this young man actually took out two Paragons with a single slash.

"This guy… it can't be..." Opening her red mouth as she stared at Noah, who had killed the two Snake-People as though he was swatting down houseflies, that young lady involuntarily muttered. After realizing how she addressed him, she quickly slapped herself on the mouth, hoping Noah didn't hear her.

“Hey, Neela, are you alright?” On the sand dune, the man’s face was filled with excitement as he dragged his wounded leg and carefully walked around the few snake-people before coming to the mercenary troop and smiling at the lady. 

“Hubert? Didn’t you return to Rock Desert City to get us reinforcements? Why are you still here?” Seeing the man, the young lady called Neela straightened her eyebrows and scolded. 

Being scolded by the lady, Hubert could only let out a bitter laugh. He pointed to Noah’s back and said. “Yes, isn’t this reinforcement?” “Hah?” Hearing this, Neela momentarily stilled. Her gaze returned to Noah for a moment. She then hit Hubert on the head.

"Ouch! Why?" "What do you mean "why", you dumbass?" Neela angrily whispered. "Don't you know that only an Officer Rank Mage can effortlessly kill Paragon Rank Warriors? Where did you meet such a powerhouse? What did you offer him in return?"

“I don’t know him either. I met him just now when I fell. Originally, I wanted to ask him to go to Rock Desert City to send a message…” Having said to this point, Hubert’s face appeared a little embarrassed. 

“At first, he ignored me. But when I said that I am a member of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company, he suddenly became interested. He even gave me an antidote and healing medicine…”

“Does he have some relationship with our Desert Metal Mercenary Company?” Neela’s narrow hand gently swept the black hair on her forehead that had been contaminated by her sweat. Her unintentional loveliness caused the obscene glint in the eyes of one of the Snake-People close by to rise.

“But I have never heard our company leader mentioning that they knew such a strong person of such a young age...” Neela knitted her eyebrows together and said suspiciously.

“I don’t know either.” Hubert smiled bitterly, shook his head and said. “ But I don’t think he has any ill intentions. Otherwise, why would he come and save us? He could've just killed me.”

Seeing that Noah had easily killed two of his subordinates, the triangle eyes of the snake leader were almost popping out. His scarlet snake tongue gently extended and shrunk before he said in a thick voice. “H-human, o-offending us Snake-People in the Tageer Desert is not a w-wise choice...”

"Don't bother. Snake-People only care about strength. There will be no one willing to go against me for you." Noah already disappeared from his previous place. The Snake leader didn't even have time to react as he was grabbed by the head.

"Soulsearch." A few moments later, the corpse of the Snake leader fell on the sand. Seeing that the leader had died, fear appeared on the faces of the Snake-People. They let out a few sharp neighing cries, swung their snake tails and swiftly fled toward the inner regions of the desert. 

With a hand movement, black spikes made of shadows rose up from the ground, impaling the Snake-People, killing them instantly. “Are you alright?” When he had walked closer, Noah stood in front of the young lady and asked.

"We’re… we are alright." Not daring to look Noah in the eye, Neela deeply bowed. "We thank His Excellency for saving our lives! If His Excellency wasn't close by, our fate… I’m Neela, the leader of this small group. At the same time, we are a team of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company.”

"Mm, I see." Noah nodded. “If I may ask, where does His Excellency plan to go next? If you have the time, I would like to invite you to Rock Desert City. Our Desert Metal Mercenary Company clearly differentiates between those that help us and those who are our enemies. His Excellency has helped us. We will definitely return this favor!”

“The Rock Desert City isn’t far from here. It is only around two hours away and will not delay too much of your time.” Seemingly afraid that Noah would reject, Neela hurriedly added. Seeing Noah nod, she called over a mercenary. "Go and bring the carriage."

"Okay.” One of the mercenaries smiled and nodded. After which, he swiftly went into a sand dune not far away and pulled out a camel carriage and brought it over. Noah realized that on the box at the back of the carriage, there were two monster corpses. 

Seeing the fresh blood that had yet to thicken on the corpse, this should be the quarry of Neela and her small group. The size of this kind of desert carriage was not very big and thus the monster corpses left no room for people to ride in the carriage.

“You will first bring the thing back to Rock Desert City. Report what happened here to the company leaders.” Waving her hand to the mercenary driving the carriage, Neela gave an order in a well practiced manner.

“Hee hee, alright. I believe that the troop leaders will be very happy to meet a new friend.” The mercenary gave Noah a friendly smile and a bow before kicking his feet on the camel’s backside. He swiftly headed to Rock Desert City with the quarry.

Seeing the carriage that was swiftly disappearing from sight, Noah led the way toward the direction the carriage headed in. Noticing that Noah had moved, Neela hurriedly hastened her subordinates.


	77. Chapter 77

During the journey to Rock Desert City, Neela had made some subtle inquiries in order to confirm Noah’s identity but each time, she would be vaguely handled by him. Regarding this, she could only helplessly glare at him.

Although Noah did not admit it himself, after Neela’s careful and detailed observation of his appearance, a certainty appeared in her heart. This young man in front of her was a rouge Mage! 

After becoming certain of Noah’s identity, the gaze Neela gave him had a little less caution and more smiles and respect. Noah figured why she might be like that.

While they chatted along the way, the outline of the huge city that sat outside the eastern region of the Tageer Desert also faintly appeared within the group’s sight.

Seeing the Rock Desert City close by, Neela and the others heaved a long sigh. Under the happy cheers of everyone, Noah and the rest of the group slowly arrived at the city’s entrance and swarmed into it.

Compared to the cities in the regions of the Kingdoms, the cities in the desert were simpler and dignified. Perhaps it was because it was inside the Tageer Desert that the defenses here were much tighter than the cities in the outer regions of the Kingdoms. 

Within the city one could see fully armed soldiers patrolling all around. After entering the city, Noah followed Neela and her group as they headed toward the south. They passed through a few streets until a large compound appeared in their sight.

On the top of the compound, there was a flag that was swaying with the wind where the words ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ were written in a big font. The drawing on the flag also faintly emitted the firm atmosphere of blood and guts.

At the entrance, a few fierce large men were carrying weapons in their hands and stood as still and straight as a pen. Their sharp gazes swept back and forth on the people walking past the compound. 

From the faint scent of blood that they emitted, it appeared that they were men of iron will that had really survived at the edge of a blade. Those novices who simply carried a weapon by their waist and thought they were mercenaries could not be compared to them.

“In this Rock Desert City, our Desert Metal Mercenary Company’s strength could be ranked among the top three. Only the Sand Mercenary Company can surpass us. Their company has two Officer Rank Warriors, thus the position of the Sand Mercenary Company cannot be shaken. Other than the Sand Mercenary Company, only the Storm Mercenary Company can barely compare with us in the entire Rock Desert City.”

Walking toward the huge compound, Neela smiled and explained to Noah by her side. Her smile contained a little pride. 

[The older brother has always been smarter than others, while the younger brother is careful and vicious. He is always sly when doing things while his methods are ruthless. With them working together and adding their outstanding training talent, they are really a perfect pair. No wonder they would achieve such success…] Noah’s mind recalled the praise he heard about them in his past life.

“Neela, are you alright? The one who came back earlier said that you were ambushed by Snake-People?” When they arrived at the compound, one of the large men at the entrance came forward and asked Neela with a smile. “We’re fine.” Carelessly waving her hand, Neela smiled and inquired. “Are the two company leaders in?”

“Yes, they are both in.” The large man smiled and nodded. He then gave Noah a deep bow of respect. "Your Excellency, thank you for your help. The company leaders are eagerly awaiting your arrival." "I hope I'm not intruding." Noah put on a smile and looked approachable.

Following behind Neela, Noah passed through a few small paths. During the walk, they met quite a number of Desert Metal Mercenary Company members. When they saw Noah, a shocked expression would surface on their faces and they would begin whispering among themselves.

“Haha. It looks like the person who came back earlier has already publicized you. I hope you don't take it to heart, Your Excellency.” Seeing the surrounding mercenaries’ expressions, Neela tilted her head and sweetly said. "No insult taken." 

After following Neela and passing through another small path, a spacious hall appeared in front of them. Standing outside the hall, Noah could hear two men’s voices being emitted from within. 

Neela bowed once again and excused herself. Noah saw her off. After which, he slowly walked to the door. He was about to push it open and enter when the door was pulled open with a crunching sound.

When the door was pulled open, a face of a young man suddenly appeared. The young man was wearing a mercenary uniform; his tall figure was straight and strong. Those dark blue eyes of his contained laziness and cold sternness. 

On his face, his smile was overflowing. However, under it hid a faint fierceness and viciousness. Clearly, this young man might appear good natured but he was the fierce type who would strike back at someone who attacked him even if he was dying.

[A musclehead.] It was the first thing that Noah thought of when he saw him. "So you're the one who helped Neela and her pals, huh? Nice meetin you, pal!" The young man held out his hand at Noah. 

[Oh, a test?] Noah realized what was happening. The young man in front of him was a Paragon Rank, and him holding out his hand to an Officer Rank is considered extremely rude and disrespectful. Some prideful Officer Ranks may even kill others for things like that. There's no way anyone doesn't know that.

Noah lightly smiled and shook the young man's hand. "Nice to meet you." This action evidently surprised the young man in front of him. "Hooh, you're different than others. I was sure you'd freak out and start yelling "You dare!", haha."

"You're not afraid of saying your mind huh? I'm not interested in formalities, they get rather tedious." Noah replied. After glancing at Noah again, the young man's smile widened. "I'm liking you more and more. Tell me, can you drink?" 

"Any real man knows how to drink." Hearing Noah's answer, the young man roared with laughter. "Hahaha, what a good answer. Indeed, you're not a man if you can't drink! Come, meet my older brother." The young man opened the door and went inside. 

Entering the hall, Noah’s gaze shifted to the young man seated on the leader’s seat. He had brown hair, big glasses that rested on his nose and was wearing a white robe. He was smiling as he watched Noah enter the room. His eyes which were brighter than ordinary people’s and carried a wisdom and slyness that was difficult to detect.

“Welcome, Friend. I hope that my brother wasn't annoying you.” The white dressed young man gradually stood up and shook hands with Noah. "Of course not, I prefer him over the stuck up nobles." Noah answered in a friendly tone.

[I see now why they're known as the 'Twin Desert Wolves'.] Behind the friendly mask, Noah thoroughly observed the two brothers. [The older is smart and cunning strategist, while the younger is a born warrior.]

Noah heard many tales about these two in the future. Couple hundred years in the future, these two brothers will rise to the top of Tageer Desert, ruling it as kings. They even managed to break through to Magistrate Rank, thus having their names etched in history forever!

It was the main reason Noah even helped Neela and her subordinates. If he could strike a good friendship with two future Magistrate Ranks, that would be excellent for him. 

"Haha, you and me both. Tell me, what brings you here to this Desert?" The older brother, Dylan, sat down with Noah and began making small talk. "I've been a little interested in that legend about the White Heavenly Flame, so I decided to investigate a little." 

"Aah, that old legend. People say that the White Heavenly Flame fell in the Tageer Desert from the sky. Many have tried searching over the years, but no one succeeded. These days, most people don't even believe in that old story." Dylan nodded as he remembered.

"Well, at least you made a lot of money on maps, I guess?" "Haha, yeah. Even these days you can still buy a map of the locations of the Heavenly Flame as a souvenir. I remember, when I first got here many shops ran out of maps entirely." 

[Hmm, he's trying to deter me. I know that these two found the Heavenly Flame in the future, but that's still many decades later. Does he already know the location?] Noah debated whether he should use Soulsearch on Dylan, but he soon dropped that idea.

[I don't know if he has any information. Killing him right now might be a bad move.] The two continued to chat, and Dylan's face greatly changed when he found out that Noah was a rouge Mage. His eyes shone for a moment, but then stopped right after.

He realized that he had no benefits that can tie Noah down to his company, so he instead focused on making friends with Noah. Consequently, this only made Noah's job easier.

Soon enough, the two joked and laughed together like old friends. Once it became dark outside, Radley opened the doors with a bang. "Brother, Noah, we are all going drinking. How about joining us?" 

"Count me in. I'm parched." Noah answered with a smile. "Excellent, I've been wondering how you hold your liquor. Don't pass out after one bottle, or I'll be disappointed." "You should worry about yourself, I'm a good drinker." 

Seeing this bizarre scene, Dylan shook his head and also decided to join in. That night, the three of them visited a bar and drank until dawn. The winner of the small contest was Noah, as he managed to drink more than Radley by a small amount.


	78. Chapter 78

The next day when Noah woke up from his sleep, his mind felt clouded and his opened eyes were blurry. He realized that the sky was already bright. Rubbing his somewhat painful head, he gradually sat up and took out a potion out of his spatial ring.

After drinking the potion, his mind once again felt clear. [I will never understand why do people enjoy drinking alcohol. Not only does it have a horrible taste, it ruins a person's ability to function properly.] 

As Noah was putting on his clothes, the room’s door was suddenly gently pushed open. A lovely and pretty figure quietly entered. However, when she saw Noah sitting on the bed, she was slightly surprised and hurriedly bowed. In a timid voice, she asked. “Your Excellency, have you woken up?”

The girl that entered the room did not appear very old. From her appearance, it seemed that she was still a teen. She wore a pale green elegant dress. Her body was small, but it was strangely giving off a mature feeling, appearing only slightly unripe.

Her tanned oval face was cute and delicate, much like a pretty porcelain doll. Her timid manner was like a rabbit in a state of anxiety, causing people to be unable to help but pity her.

Seeing this green dressed girl for the first time, Noah carefully observed her. Seeing that she was just an ordinary person and not a Ranked Mage, he relaxed. He then quickly gave her a friendly nod.

“Your Excellency, I… I shall help you wash.” Putting the water basin gently on a wooden rack just by the bed, the cute girl said in a soft voice as she anxiously stood by the bed.

“Hehe, it’s not necessary. I will do it myself.” Shaking his head with a smile, Noah came down from the bed and came to the side of the wooden rack. He randomly washed himself. Tilting his head to watch the girl’s anxious manner, he 'could not help but smile'. “What is your name?”

“Ah?” Hearing this, the girl became a little blank. She immediately said hesitatingly. “I… I am called Sarah.” Nodding his head, Noah took a face towel and wiped his face. After which, he threw the towel into the basin, faced the sky and inhaled the fresh and cool air.

Seeing that Noah had completed his wash, Sarah held the water basin tightly and briskly headed toward the outside.

Tilting his head and watching the girl’s pretty and small figure, Noah’s gaze suddenly drifted to the waist that one would desire to hug. It was because he found something familiar to her. [Hm?] When the girl’s narrow waist twisted, it reminded him of something he saw before.

Going through his memories, he found out that the girl's movements reminded him of a female Snake Person. "Your Excellency, the breakfast will be done soon. Is there anything else you require?" Sarah bowed down.

As she removed her sleeve, Noah saw that, on Sarah's tan skin, there were green snake scales. His gaze then followed down to her lower body. Seeing no tail, his theory was confirmed. 

Sarah, who noticed his gaze, suddenly raised her small face. When she saw Noah's expression, she followed his gaze and slowly shifted downwards and finally stopped at the arm she had accidentally revealed. 

Her cute face immediately turned white as she pulled down her sleeves and carefully took two steps back. 

After which, she hugged her small legs with her hands, leaned against the corner of the wall and squatted down. Her small body also started trembling.

“I’m… I’m sorry… I… I did not intend to disgust you.” The little girl shivered as she hugged her small legs. Her timid voice had a little anxiety and tears began to fall down her face.

Noah knew why she was like this. He had heard others mention that in areas near the Tageer Desert, there would occasionally be human women who would have relations with Snake-People. According to logic, when a Snake-Person and a human are involved, it would usually not result in pregnancy. 

However, there could always be an exception to everything. A slight chance existed that women with relations to a Snake-Person could become pregnant and eventually give birth…

Although a child would be born, this kind of baby with both human and Snake-People’s blood usually had difficulty living past two years of age. However, the girl in front of Noah seemed to have already reached thirteen or fourteen. What actually happened?

Noah gazed at the little girl with interest and smiled. Even if she could live until she was old, what was the use? People like Sarah would be viewed as a curse by both the humans and the Snake-People. 

To live so many years, other than receiving more disdainful looks and ridicule, there did not seem to be anything else in her life…

Slowly moving to Sarah’s side, Noah lowered his body and rubbed his hand gently on the little girl’s head. After which, he held her hand under her frightened expression and carefully pulled open her sleeves. 

He watched the green colored snake scales and abruptly said in a gentle and soft voice. “What beautiful scales.” Hearing this, the little girl’s frightened expression turned blank. 

Since she had been born, Noah was the first person who said that the scales, which even she herself was afraid of, were beautiful…

Within the trauma filled weak little spirit a strange feeling stealthily surfaced. Opening her eyes which were faintly releasing an unusual and bewitching feeling, she timidly said. “Is Your Excellency not disgusted?”

Staring at the pair of Sarah's moist eyes, Noah realized that they were slightly green in color. Moreover… at the deep regions of the pupils, there appeared to be three extremely small dark green spots that were hidden.

Staring intently at that somewhat demonic dark green pupils, Noah noticed that the dark green spots would occasionally shine before dimming. [What's this?]

A confused expression faintly surfaced on his face. What kind of demonic eyes were those? Even with his past life knowledge, he still never saw something like this. After all, Sarah is the first Snake-Person half breed he saw.

With his surprise still remaining, Noah once again stared at the little girl’s pupils. However, he was stunned to realize that the three tiny dark green spots had actually disappeared. Moreover, Sarah was now looking at him weirdly. It was time to pretend.

“Don’t tell me that I was seeing things?” Noah mumbled in a stunned voice. He shook his head violently and once again stared at the little girl for a moment. Other than her eyes being slightly green, there did not seem to be any tiny spots present.

“Ugh… it was most likely the result of me drinking last night.” Helplessly shaking his head, Noah pulled down Sarah’s sleeves. After which, he helped her to her feet and smiled as he watched this timid girl who was at his shoulder’s height. With a smile, he apologized. “I’m sorry. I’ve frightened you.”

Sarah hurriedly shook her head. Her small hand was so anxious that she wrinkled the clothes in her hand. Since her birth, Noah was also the first to apologize to her in all these years.

“Your Excellency, during this period of time, I will be your personal maid. If there is anything you need, you can instruct me.” Sarah bowed and said softly. Noah smiled and nodded. He rubbed the little girl’s head and asked with a smile. “Where are the leaders?”

“Company leader Lord Dylan and Lord Radley had already gone to manage the things in the company. They told me that if Your Excellency wants to find them, I can bring you to the meeting room at the forecourt.” Sarah said in a gentle voice.

“Oh, since they are busy, then forget it.” Shaking his head with a smile, Noah decided to walk out. He smiled and said. “Let’s go, show me around this Desert Metal Mercenary Company.”

“Yes.” After responding gently, Sarah carefully followed. Walking out of the room, the sunlight outside splashed downwards, causing one’s body to feel extremely warm. 

Although the desert was very hot, it was still currently morning time, where the temperature of the sunlight had not reached the extent of causing one to feel the heat.

While walking with Sarah within the inner regions of the mercenary company, the mercenaries whom they met would stop and greet Noah in a respectful manner. It appeared that all of them knew Noah’s identity.

However, when their gaze swept toward Lucia by the side, their smiles gradually turned cold. In some of their eyes, there was even a faint bit of disgust. When faced with such an expression from them, Noah looked rather satisfied, although he hid it deeply. 

It looked like Lucia’s identity was something these people also knew about. Back when Noah had become a useless trash in his past life, he had also received such treatment. Even the servants and maids would look at him with disgust. This was the reason why Noah was satisfied with this.

[If I play the part of a prince on a white horse, then maybe I'll get a chance at buying her from Dylan. And then I can research those green eyes as much as I want.] He was certain that Dylan won't give him trouble over an ordinary person who everyone dislikes.

In fact, Dylan might even happily thank him for being such a 'good person'. At most, he'll have to give up a Paragon Rank artifact, and that would be more than enough for her.

The mercenary companies by the border of the desert all had a blood feud with the Snake-People that was hard to erase. Each time these mercenaries remembered that the little girl in front of them had the dirty Snake-People’s blood flowing in her, they would involuntarily display a disgusted expression. 

This kind of sentiment was something that almost nothing could suppress. This was the disgust that had formed from the long conflicts and the enmity between the humans and the Snake-People.

Having both the human’s and Snake-People’s blood at the same time, Sarah had to bear the discrimination as an abomination from both sides. Thinking about it, she was the most innocent girl.

While she was following by Noah’s side along the way, Sarah’s small pretty body would shiver slightly each time the disgusted gazes were shot from the surroundings. The cute small face that should have caused numerous people to glance at admiringly was filled with gloominess.

Walking past a corner, Noah slowly came to a stop and tilted his head toward Sarah whose face had suddenly become uneasy because of his sigh. After musing for a while, he gently said. 

“Sarah, don’t be too conscious of other people’s gazes. All you need to remember is that you do not live for those other people. You live because of yourself.” Having said those words, Noah rubbed Sarah’s head and continued to walk into the distance.

Bearing Noah’s words, Sarah stood on the spot, at a loss. A long time later, a strange splendor appeared on her the cute and exquisite face. Her pretty face gently sniffed. Raising her small face, the three tiny green colored spots in her dark green colored eyes suddenly surfaced silently. “Thank you, Your Excellency…”

After she softly muttered the sentence, Sarah’s small face suddenly displayed a smile that was filled with enticement. After which, she broke into a joyful walk and caught up to the back figure of the young man in front of her.


	79. Chapter 79

“Your Excellency, wake up…” Early in the morning, Sarah softly shouted. Her hands were placed on her narrow waist while her exquisite small face helplessly watched Noah on the bed, hugging his pillow and sleeping.

Under Sarah's shout, Noah semi-consciously opened his eyes. With heavy eyelids, he lazily sat up and 'did not know if he wanted to laugh or cry' as he looked at Sarah pouting her lips beside him. With the support of Sarah’s gentle and tender small hands, he quickly put on his clothes.

“Your Excellency, you cannot blame me for disturbing your sleep. Last night you had even reminded me to wake you up because you had something to discuss with the leaders, or else…” Having said until this point, a bright redness faintly appeared on Qing Lin’s exquisite small face as she said in a voice that could not be heard. “Else you said that my bottom will suffer.”

During early morning, when a man just woke up, it was the time when he was most potent. Although Sarah in front of him was only thirteen or fourteen, her body, perhaps as a result of having both the blood of a human and a Snake-Person, protruded and sunk in the correct places. 

She was full where it should be and narrow at the right places. All of these were lethal temptations to those Mages who had strange likings. "Haha, that was a joke. I didn't mean it seriously..." 

Behind Noah's easy going attitude he showed Sarah, his emotionless eyes observed and remembered her every movement. [It appears she feels rather accustomed to me.] 

These past few days, among other things, Noah was spending time getting closer to Sarah and deepening her opinion of him. As a result, Sarah now spent as much time as she could around Noah. 

"Let's go now. Sorry for that." With a gentle smile, Noah rubbed the girl's head. "It's fine, I'm not mad..." Sarah obediently followed behind Noah to Dylan and Radley's room.

The three of them sat within a spacious room while Sarah carefully carried three cups of tea to distribute to each of them before obediently standing behind Noah. [Finally a good drink.] Noah drank the black colored tea.

“Haha, Noah, I heard you have some problem? Just say it out and let me analyze it for you.” Dylan smiled and said to Noah as he lifted his teacup to take a sip.

Noah nodded with a smile before musing for awhile. In a soft voice, he said. "Well, you already know why I came to Tageer Desert. I was wondering if you had any useful information." 

"Oh, why didn't I hear of this? What is it?” Hearing this, Radley asked curiously with a smile. “I'm looking for a Heavenly Flame…” Noah whispered as his finger lightly tapped on the table.

“Uh…” When the words "Heavenly Flame" were said, the room immediately became much quieter. Radley asked in a puzzled voice. "Heavenly Flame? You mean that old legend? Why would you search for that? Everyone already admitted that such a thing doesn't exist." 

"Well, I'm a little adventurous. I heard that east of Rock Desert City, there exists a strange area. I was curious, but since I'm not a local, I was wondering if you could lead me there or if you have any special information." Noah answered.

“Ah, yes, I think I get it. More accurately speaking, it should be a little south-east of Rock Desert City.” Dylan nodded his head. He voiced his thoughts. “But the east side of the Rock Desert City does not seem to have any strange places.”

“There’s indeed nothing. I have once brought people to search that place for a few days during one of our missions but I did not find any strange places.” Radley also shook his head and said helplessly.

Seeing the two of them shake their head, Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought. It appeared that there was no trace of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ there… [They are either excellent liars, or they really don't know anything. But still, south-east, huh... I could give it a shot.]

However, just as Noah was lost in thought, a gentle voice suddenly sounded within the room. “That…Your Excellency, the east side of the Rock Desert City… seems to have something strange.”

Hearing this, Noah stilled. He quickly turned around and stared at Sarah who was twisting her small hands under his searing gaze. “Do you know something?” He hurriedly said.

To the side, Dylan and Radley also shifted their stunned gaze toward Sarah. Clearly, they were not informed. This reaction naturally did not escape Noah's eyes.

Being the center of attention of the three gazes in the room, the timidness on Sarah’s small face grew. She said haltingly. “I am also unsure if my senses are accurate… but a couple of days ago, I really sensed that there was some unusual movement at a region to the east of the Rock Desert City.”

“How do you know about it? You don’t seem to possess such a strength.” Dylan’s palm rubbed his tea cup as he said with suspicion. Radley also shot her a stern glance.

“I… I don’t know. A few days ago, I sensed a very strong presence that appeared outside Rock Desert City. That presence… and the blood in my body, seemed to be a little similar. Even the company leader of the Sand Mercenary Company is very weak compared to that presence.” Sarah carefully stuck herself tightly to Noah as she whispered.

“Oh?” Hearing this, Dylan and Radley were a little uneasy. The company leader of the Sand Mercenary Company was a peak Officer Rank. If even he was much weaker than the mysterious person... That… Did that mean that the other party was at General Rank?

“Something that is similar to your bloodline? Don’t tell me it is Queen Medusa?” After musing for a while, Radley suddenly said in a shocked voice. 

With Queen Medusa’s strength, it should not be hard for her to turn the Rock Desert City into ashes without any effort. 

This kind of extremely terrifying person had actually roamed the area surrounding Rock Desert City without anyone knowing?

When the name ‘Queen Medusa’ entered his ears, Dylan’s expression also changed slightly. Around the Tageer Desert, this name was as renowned as Noah's father Grand Duke Nicolas Wimbeldon was in Lidour Kingdom.

"I don’t know…" Sarah shook her head. She whispered. "I could only vaguely sense it. A few days ago, she had suddenly arrived somewhere to the east of Rock Desert City. There, she seemed to have stayed for a night. During the night, the mana to the east was extremely irritable. I also know that when she left, she seemed to have been injured…"

Hearing Sarah narrating the tale, Noah's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he softly said. “Can you be certain of the exact location where she stayed?” “I should be. Although a few days have passed, the disturbance that she had left behind is pretty big. I… I can rely on the bloodline in me… I should be able to find that place.” 

When she mentioned her bloodline, Sarah’s face clearly became a little dejected. However, she maintained a forceful smile as she said. “If Your Excellency wants to go, Sarah will try her best to bring you there!”

“Haha, thank you very much Sarah… Let’s go and take a look tomorrow. I hope the results won’t disappoint me.” Noah smiled and nodded as he said softly. "Ooh, that sounds fun! I'm going as well!" Radley raised his hand in the air.

Dylan looked at his brother and sighed. "Fine, we'll organize a search party. I'm also quite interested in the legend myself." Noah thanked the two brothers, but inside he was rather unhappy. 

[It looks like deepening my bond with Sarah worked well. But that Queen Medusa is a problem. I never heard of her involvement in my previous life.] Noah suddenly got a bad feeling.

This unexpected situation reminded him of Jayden's case. However, considering the lack of general information Noah had, he decided to first see things for himself. 

[And I hope that I won't be forced to kill these two brothers.] Although Noah now shared some good friendship with Dylan and Radley, friendship meant nothing in front of benefits. 

It would be a great shame if he killed two future Magistrate Ranks who could be of great help to him. He could use them in many ways, from turning Tageer Desert into his domain with them as puppet rulers to using them as spies in case they join any Kingdom. Losing that might be a great blow.

But, if killing the two results in obtaining the Heavenly Flame, then Noah would do it without a second thought. After that, he would also be free to research Sarah's eyes as he wants.


	80. Chapter 80

In the vast desert, the yellow sand raged. “Sarah, are you certain that it’s here?” Noah’s face faked surprise as he watched the flat desert in front of him. The terrain here was extremely ordinary with nothing special that would attract one’s attention and there were countless similar places within the desert. 

It was difficult for anyone to imagine that there were traces of something as grand as a Heavenly Flame in such a humble place. However, Noah felt the irritation in the surrounding mana just as Sarah said.

And, by releasing his mana sense, he noticed the presence of a switch! [This is the correct place.] Now, he was certain. The only thing left was to somehow "miraculously" find the switch and enter. 

Behind Noah were Dylan and Radley. At the same time, there were tens of elite members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. At the moment, however, they were all throwing suspicious gazes at Sarah in front of them who was leading the way. 

For these people who had lived in Rock Desert City for a few years or even more than a decade, this place was so extremely ordinary. Moreover, some of these people had even come here a couple of times to perform their assignment. They had never felt anything unusual here compared to other places…

Despite being the focus of everyone’s attention, Sarah, who was a little timid, summoned up her courage, stared at Noah and said. “Your Excellency, based on my senses, the unusual occurrence that happened a couple of days ago originated from here.”

Hearing this, Noah pressed his eyebrows together. He stood at a small sand dune, raised his head and took a look at the surrounding. His face was gloomy, though inside he praised the girl for saving him time.

“There doesn’t seem to be any special building or strange cave. But if Sarah is correct… since there isn’t anything on the surface or in the sky… then, it might be here.” Dylan glanced at the surrounds before suddenly squatting down. His hand grabbed some sand and slowly let it fall as he said softly.

[Well no shit.] “So, you mean… it’s underground?” Hearing this, Noah momentarily stilled as he said with a stunned voice. “Yes, although there are many strong Mages who can twist the mana in the air in the desert to create mirages that can fool people’s eyes, the degree of distortion in the air surrounding the Rock Desert City is insufficient to create such wonders."

"Thus, after eliminating this possibility… since there is no mirage concealment and since our eyes cannot see it, then the highest possibility would be that it is underground…” Dylan analyzed with a smile.

Nodding his head, Noah stepped gently on the ground. He immediately smiled bitterly. “Even if the secret is underground, it is impossible for us to randomly dig around.”

“Haha, we naturally cannot. If we randomly dig holes in the desert, we might end up burying ourselves alive. However, Queen Medusa was able to go down, so I guess there should be some hidden passageway.” 

Shaking his head with another smile, Dylan said. “There happens to be some experts in terrain surveyance in our company. As long as we get them to survey the area, it should not be difficult to find the passageway to go underground.”

Hearing this, Noah let out a sigh. “Since it is like this, then I’ll have to trouble them.” Dylan replied with a smile. “Finding the passageway is a small matter… However, this place isn’t far from the Rock Desert City. If we create such a huge commotion by surveying here, I am afraid that other strengths in Rock Desert City will become aware of it."

"The night in the Tageer Desert is very short. If we only work at night, not only does it waste a large amount of time but we might miss some important places due to the darkness… In the Rock Desert City, with our Desert Metal Mercenary Company’s strength, other small strengths would not dare to offend us. But the Sand Mercenary Company… may well come out and do something.” Dylan shook his head, frowned and said helplessly.

“Sand Mercenary Company?” Noah frowned. “The Sand Mercenary Company is the most powerful strength in Rock Desert City other than the city’s military power. Although in terms of overall strength, our Desert Metal Mercenary Company would not lose to them, their Company Leader, Berman, is a peak Officer Rank."

"You should clearly know of the difference between an ordinary Officer Rank and a peak one. Thus, if there is nothing important, we would normally not offend the Sand Mercenary Company." Dylan answered.

"However, if we create a huge commotion by searching around here, it would arouse their curiosity. Under such a situation they would naturally not play the role of an observer.” Radley, who was on one side, said helplessly.

Hearing this, Noah pursed his lips. He quietly thought for awhile, then raised his head to watch Dylan and Radley. With a smile, he said. “It’s alright. The both of you only need to worry about the search."

"However, please do not spread the news of the ‘Heavenly Flame’. As for the Sand Mercenary Company. if they intend to interfere… then I will handle it.”

“Hehe, all the people here have the backbone of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. They are comrades who have followed us as we fought little by little to create this strength. The issue of keeping it a secret is no issue at all.” Radley patted his chest. 

However, he immediately continued in a worried voice. “You can handle Berman from the Sand Mercenary Company? Your strength…” 

"Relax, my friend. Since I have said this, I naturally have my confidence. You just need to send people to find the passageway.” Noah smiled mysteriously.

Looking at the mysterious Noah, Dylan and Radley helplessly nodded their head. However, they did somewhat believe him. After all, what reason would Noah have to lie about such a thing?

[It is really getting harder to see through this man.] After mumbling in their hearts, Dylan and Radley exchanged gazes and saw the same feeling in each other’s eyes.

“Alright. Since it’s like this, Neela, immediately hurry back to the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. Call all those members who specialize in surveying terrains over. We will try to find where the passageway is within a day.” Dylan turned around and ordered Neela.

“Ah, yes. Leave this matter to me!” Nodding her head with a smile, Neela swiftly turned around and blew a whistle from her mouth. A camel that was a short distance away came galloping over. 

Her pretty figure leaped beautifully onto its back before Neela drove off, galloping it towards the distant Rock Desert City and leaving a trail of yellow dust along the way.

Seeing Neela gradually disappear from his sight, Noah let out a gentle sigh. He put his hands behind his back and waited. [Perhaps it would be better to go and clean out that Berman right away.]

Not long after Neela left, she brought back all the members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company that were skilled in surveying the terrain. Soon, all of the members arrived at Noah’s and the others location. 

Under Dylan’s order, forty terrain surveying members divided their work and began to conduct the surveyance with precision.

Being a huge strength in the Rock Desert City, there were naturally numerous gazes watching Desert Metal Mercenary Company’s every move.

Not long after Neela brought a large number of people out, there were a couple of wandering teams who appeared close to where Noah and the others were and watched Desert Metal Mercenary Company’s actions with faces that were filled with curiosity.

The area outside Rock Desert City which had the possibility of a ‘Heavenly Flame’ hiding there was a secret already tightly sealed by the people that Dylan had assembled. Thus, those mercenaries and other people who came over to observe were all mercilessly stopped outside.

Following the progress of the surveyance, the surrounding people watching also increased. Although Dylan had announced that the Desert Metal Mercenary Company’s large maneuver was because it wanted to hunt for a powerful monster, the surrounding crowd continued to gradually grow larger.

Standing on a sand dune, Dylan and the others watched the human crowd. They could not resist shaking their head helplessly and bitterly smiling. “Looking at the way things progress, within half an hour, the Sand Mercenary Company will send someone over.”

Radley knitted his eyebrows together. his face faintly contained a cold and ruthless aura. His hand shook as a tungsten steel long spear appeared in his palm, which he violently inserted into the sand dune. 

With a cold voice, he said. “If they really provoke us too much, that Sand Mercenary Company can forget about living peacefully. Other than Berman, all the others in the Sand Mercenary Company are softies.”

Dylan smiled faintly. His lowered eyes also flashed a similar cold glint. On one side, Noah, who was seated on the sand dune, also let out a soft laugh. A cold arc appeared and disappeared from the corner of his mouth.

Sweeping her cautious gaze over the three men, Sarah suddenly realized that these three people were indeed worthy of being Ranked Mages. Regardless of how different their characters were, there was a ruthlessness in their bones that would chill people. 

These kinds of people were fine if you did not provoke them. Once you did, they would be like a wounded hungry wolf in the desert who would stare intently at you, waiting for the moment when you became relaxed…

When the blazing sun in the sky began to descend, a disturbance suddenly occurred among the surrounding audience. A group of around forty mercenaries slowly split the crowd and walked over in a manner that stood out. “It’s the Sand Mercenary Company. Looks like there will be a good show…”

“He he, the Sand Mercenary Company has finally become impatient.” Seeing the mercenary company that had walked over, numerous whispers broke out among the surrounding people who were watching.

“It seems I still overestimated that guy’s patience…” Seeing the company heading over, Dylan shook his head and ridiculed.

“Let’s go and take a look. Before the situation clears, Berman will not appear. The one leading the company now seemed to be the one second only to Berman within the Sand Mercenary Company, Maxwell. Hehe, Someone who was once defeated by me still dares to find trouble with us.” 

Radley coldly laughed as he gazed from a distance. “Yes.” Dylan nodded his head. He waved his hand. Around him, twenty members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company were gathered. 

Thick cold weapons were held in their hands as they walked out of the blockade region and indifferently watched the small group of mercenaries walking over.

The two groups slowly met and the atmosphere between them was a little tense. Being two powerful strengths in Rock Desert City, they had quite a number of conflicts in the past.

“Halt. The Desert Metal Mercenary Company is conducting a mission here, please do not interfere.” Lifting his eyes, Dylan said in a calm voice as though he was conducting an official business.


	81. Chapter 81

“Hei, company leader Dylan. I have never heard of the Mercenary Association announcing such a mission. Moreover, the surrounding tens of kilometers of Rock Desert City are public places. There isn’t anything wrong with me bringing people over, is there?” 

A man with a somewhat feminine face walked out from within the group of the Sand Mercenary Company. His gaze swept across the people inside the blocked off region as he laughed.

“Maxwell, if it were not for Berman interfering, you should have become a corpse now, no?” Radley threw a glance at this man who appeared to need a beating as he smiled with ill intentions.

With his face twitching slightly, the man called Maxwell, swept his gaze at Radley with some fear and enmity. He took a step back and coldly answered. “A forthright person does not hide anything. Our company leader is also interested in this place, so…”

“So you can get lost…” Indifferent words suddenly spat out from the emotionless Noah, who was watching by the side. 

“Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me in this manner!?” Hearing Noah’s words, Maxwell first stilled. Soon after, he saw Noah’s young face and immediately became furious. 

Radley and Dylan were the company leaders of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company, so it was nothing strange for them to be rude when talking to him. However, this young man who appeared to be only a youth actually dared to rudely scold him. This caused Maxwell to be infuriated from shame.

Just after Maxwell’s reprimand left his mouth, Radley’s expression suddenly became cold. A lightning fast arc leapt from the tungsten steel spear that he held in his hand. He took a step forward and shot his long spear, which carried a sharp force, viciously toward Maxwell’s throat.

Radley’s sudden lethal attack caused Maxwell’s expression to drastically change. He had not expected that the other side would be so bold. However, Radley’s strength was above his own, so he could only hurriedly step back in an embarrassed manner. 

When he was stepping back, he suddenly sprained his ankle and fell on his butt in front of the large crowd. [What a brittle Mage, he obviously has not seen much combat.] Noah glanced at the pathetic man for a second.

“Radley, you dare to attack me? Our mercenary company will not let you off!” Seeing the increasingly large silver colored tip of the spear in his eyes, a terror appeared on Maxwell's face as he sharply cried.

“Tch.” When the long spear was around half an inch from Maxwell’s throat, it suddenly stopped. The sharp force it contained passed through the obstruction of the air and scratched a small bloody scar on Maxwell’s throat. Instantly, fresh blood began flooding out.

“Who do you think you are? You dare speak to my friend in such a manner?” Watching Maxwell who did not dare to move as he allowed the fresh blood on his throat to flow because the long spear was right next to him, Radley laughed disdainfully.

Swallowing his saliva as some cold sweat formed on his forehead, Maxwell carefully used his hands to drag himself a few steps back. He then entered his team in a harassed manner before replying in an evil voice. 

“Radley, you have guts. I will return and report this to the company leader. Prepare for trouble to descend upon your Desert Metal Mercenary Company!” 

Having finished saying that, Maxwell became afraid that the ghost like spear would once again be shot toward him. He let out a loud cry, hurriedly turned around and fled with his people.

Seeing the Sand Mercenary Company running away like homeless strays, the surrounding audience could not resist jeering in an orderly manner.

“Trash…” Facing the direction where Maxwell and his men were fleeing, Radley skimmed his lips in disdain. He then turned around and waved to Noah. 

“Now that we have chased that guy away in front of so many people, we have formed an enmity with the Sand Mercenary Company. Once that bastard returns, he will exaggerate in his report to Berman. I’m afraid that tomorrow, the Sand Mercenary Company will gather their members and head over to snatch this place.”

Noah smiled and nodded. He lifted his head, swept his gaze around him and softly replied. “Don't worry, the both of you only need to guard this plot of land. As for the Sand Mercenary Company, I will take care of it.”

“You… can you really do it? If you really cannot…” Dylan frowned and said in a worried voice. “Ha ha, it's just a peak Officer Rank…” Noah smiled and nodded. He waved at the two men, pulled a camel from beside him and leaped on to it. 

While still smiling, he added. “Trust me. I will ensure that the Sand Mercenary Company will hide in Rock Desert City like cowards for this period of time.”

Having said that, Noah kicked his leg lightly. The camel kicked off a tread of yellow dust as it swiftly galloped toward the Rock Desert City.

Watching Noah gradually go further into the distance, Dylan and Radley exchanged glances and involuntarily shook their heads while laughing bitterly. A long while later, they helplessly sighed.

“Forget it. Just hope that Noah really does possess a hidden card that we don’t know about. If that really doesn’t work, Berman should still not dare to be too arrogant given the strength of our Desert Metal Mercenary Company. After all, if we were to really fight to the death, their Sand Mercenary Company would also lose over half their strength. That loss is something they cannot withstand.”

On one side, Radley waved his head and laughed with expectation. “I am really curious if Noah is able to cause Berman to obediently stay in Rock Desert City.”

“Let’s wait and see. I believe him.” With a light smile, Dylan whispered. The moon in the desert hung high up in the sky like a huge silver plate. Its faint moonlight shone down, enveloping the dark night of Rock Desert City within it.

Within the western region of the Rock Desert City was a huge courtyard that was brightly lit. From within it, there was much laughter and noises being emitted. Above the courtyard, a flag with the words ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ was hung on top of a wooden pole.

In the dark night, a gentle wind blew passed, blowing the flag till it was twisted toward the west. In a room at the center of the courtyard, a faint light completely expelled the darkness. There were two people inside the room. 

One of them was unsurprisingly the one who had conflict with Noah and the others in the afternoon, Maxwell. The middle aged man who was seated above him was naturally the company leader of the Sand Mercenary Company, Berman.

“Company leader, Dylan and his group are becoming more and more arrogant. Everyone knows that our Sand Mercenary Company is an old strength within the Rock Desert City. These two young brats who had just arrived a few dozen years ago actually dared to ignore us. If we continue to let them develop, we might have no end of trouble in the future.” Maxwell licked his lips and said in a cold and sinister voice.

On the leader’s seat, the middle aged man lifted his eyes, glanced at Maxwell below and thought for a moment. “Have you managed to find out what exactly are they doing there?”

“Uh… no. The people I brought with me did not have a chance to close in when we were chased out by Radley and his group.” With a slightly red face, Maxwell said in an embarrassed manner.

Hearing this, the middle aged man frowned. He snorted, clearly displeased with Maxwell’s ability in handling problems. [How did this idiot even manage to become a Paragon Rank?]

Cold sweat appeared on Maxwell’s forehead when he heard the snort. He hurriedly added. “Company leader, although I don’t know what is their exact aim, it must definitely be something extraordinary in order for that cunning Dylan to use all his effort to search."

"Moreover, the area where they are at is not far from the Rock Desert City. Thus, we have many excuses to step into that area.” 

Berman nodded his head. There was still some hesitation on his face. Before he knew exactly what that thing was, he was not willing to fight with the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. 

He might be a peak Officer Rank Warrior, but the others in his company, other than Maxwell who was a Paragon, were all weaker than a Paragon Rank. On the other hand, besides Dylan and Radley being an Officer and a strong Paragon Rank respectively, the Desert Metal Mercenary Company had two more Paragons. Their overall strength was much stronger than the Sand Mercenary Company. 

Thus, Berman was also a little afraid of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. “Company leader. We cannot lose this opportunity. There are far too many secrets in the desert." Seeing Berman’s hesitation, Maxwell scolded silently in his heart before beginning to instigate.

"If Dylan and the others dig up some high class spell module or artifact left by people of the past, then the Desert Metal Mercenary Company will really be able to leap pass our Sand Mercenary Company in the future!” 

“Alright…” Being pressed by Maxwell, Berman also began to become indecisive. He mused for a little longer. Finally, he could not resist but nod his head. “Gather the members tomorrow and snatch that piece of land from the Desert Metal Mercenary Company!”

Seeing that Berman finally agreed, a joyful smile surfaced on Maxwell’s face. An evilness flashed across his tiny eyes.

“Sigh… Company leader Berman, your decision is really disappointing.” A faint voice suddenly sounded in the room without warning. 

The voice that suddenly sounded out caused the faces of the two in the room to change drastically. They turned their heads and were shocked to realize that a young man dressed in a white cloak had unknowingly appeared on a chair in the corner of the room.

“Who are you!?” Staring with shock at this young man who could enter the room without him noticing, Berman shouted. However, his voice was bold on the outside but weak on the inside.

“Company leader, he is the friend of those two!” Seeing Noah’s face, Maxwell took a step back and abruptly shouted.

Hearing this, Berman’s eyes shrunk as he stared intently at Noah. “Young friend, is there a reason for you to visit our Sand Mercenary Company so late in the night?” He spoke in a grave voice. 

Having seen with his own eyes the ghost like manner in which Noah appeared, Berman was not stupid enough to treat him as an ignorant youth. 

“Oh, nothing much… it is just that I wish for company leader Berman to control your Sand Mercenary Company members during these few days and stop them from coming out to disturb my friends conducting their business.” Noah’s finger gently moved on the table as he said with a laugh.

“Brat, you are too arrogant. What do you think you are?” Hearing Noah’s words, Maxwell immediately retorted angrily.

“No one is talking to you.” Lifting his eyes, Noah eyed Maxwell behind Berman. A coldness flashed across his eyes. He got up, then… suddenly turned into a black shadow and passed through the obstacles in the room in a lightning like manner!

An instant later, his palm gently landed on Maxwell’s back. His body leaned forward softly and whispered. "What an ignorant and stupid plan, made by an ignorant and stupid person…"

Immediately after he said those words, a thick shadow spike suddenly soared from Noah’s palm. It then swiftly went into Maxwell's body, whose face was filled with horror. With a muffled sound, the Maxwell who was still alive… was cut cleanly in two instantly.

Killing Maxwell in an instant, Noah patted his hand and slowly moved his feet to Berman, whose stiffened back was facing him. He watched the perspiration filled face and smiled.

Eyeing the smile on the young man’s face, Berman’s throat rolled a little. The ghost like speed that Noah displayed earlier had caused him to shiver. The requirement to display this kind of frightening speed and strength that even a peak Officer Rank cannot notice... meant that one had to be General Rank.

“G-general Rank…” Berman stared at the delicate and handsome face of the young man in front of him. He silently mumbled in his heart. [A General Rank that looked that young? What kind of horrifying faction raised such a monster?]

“Yes… the thing that I mentioned before…” Noah played with the small shadows in his palm and asked with yet another angelic smile. At the same time, a faint pressure began enveloping Berman, causing sweat to form on his forehead.

“Gulp.” Swallowing his saliva, Berman wiped off the tiny cold droplets of sweat on his forehead. A smile surfaced on his face as he tactfully responded in a dry voice. “I will do as Your Excellency says. The Sand Mercenary Company will not take even half a step into that area!”

"I'm glad to hear that. Then I won't bother a man as busy as you anymore, company leader." "Ha... ha... Of course not, of course not, Your Excellency..." Seeing Noah disappear into the shadows again, Berman let out a long sigh as he melted into his chair.

"Thank Goddess, I almost died right there." He looked at Maxwell's corpse and spit at it in disdain before calling for the servants to take away the corpse. 

At the same time, Noah appeared on the roof of one of the houses. "Thank you for your help this time, Niolo." The demon soul flew around in a good mood. "Hehe, no problem, Noah my friend. That was rather fun, seeing him squirm like that." With that, Niolo returned to the demonic spellbook.


	82. Chapter 82

Outside the Rock Desert City, the hot sun was shining from high above while the members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company continued their detailed search.

“Big Brother, have you realized that there doesn’t seem to be even a single Sand Mercenary Company member around here?” Standing on the top of one of the sand dunes, Radley’s gaze swept across his surroundings while he talked with Dylan.

“Hehe, not only are they absent here, even in the Rock Desert City, the number of the Sand Mercenary Company members roaming around has strangely decreased by a lot. And according to my latest news…" Dylan laughed.

"Last night, Maxwell seemed to have died. But Berman did not become furious because of this. Instead, he was so quiet that it was as if he did not know about it.” A hint of ridicule appeared in Dylan’s eyes as he clearly enjoyed himself. “Noah is becoming harder and harder to see through." Radley sighed.

"He gave such a treatment to the Sand Mercenary Company but was able to frighten Berman that he doesn't even dare fart. Tsk tsk, what kind of strength is needed to do this? I really don’t know how he managed to do it.”

“It really leaves one speechless." Dylan laughed softly. He turned his head and his gaze swept toward a sand dune that was allocated for resting. There, Noah did not enter the tent to hide from the hot sun. Instead, he was training his body. 

Bead sized drops of sweat poured down with his every move. For a Mage, his body looked rather impressive. It would definitely give him a lot of advantages when looking for a woman.

“Yes.” Hearing this, Radley nodded his head feeling the same. “Company leader! Group three seemed to have found some traces of a passageway!” Just as Dylan and Radley were going to a tent, a human figure suddenly ran over quickly from a distance while yelling excitedly.

“You found it?” Hearing the voice, Dylan and Radley stilled momentarily. An unrestrained joy immediately surfaced on their faces. 

After exchanging a glance with one another, their gazes turned to another sand dune and saw that Noah had also heard the news. There was both interest and surprise on his face.

Hearing the voice, Noah was very excited. He then hurriedly left his training mode, patted the yellow sand off his body and hurried over to the human figure who was still running over. “Have you discovered a passageway?” He hurriedly asked.

“Your Excellency, it seems like a little trace was discovered. Based on our experience, there is a big possibility that it is a passageway that leads into the ground.” The mercenary opened his mouth and grinned as he said.

“Good! Go, hurry, bring me over to take a look!” Clapping his palms together with great force, Noah anxiously urged. “Alright.” The mercenary’s gaze swept toward Dylan and Radley who were hurrying over, nodded his head with a smile and hurriedly turned around to lead the way.

Following the mercenary, they broke into a short run toward the north for a few minutes. There was a huge crowd there that was surrounding a slightly depressed sand ground while they whispered among themselves.

“Move aside! Move aside!” The mercenary leading the way shouted, forcing open a route. Noah followed him in and came to find that the concave ground here had half a meter wide hole that was dug out by the mercenaries at the center. 

His eyes glanced into the hole and found that it was pitch-black. There was also a faint hot air that was rising from within. “Is this it?” Noah pointed toward the dark hole, asking everyone around him.

“Yes, Your Excellency. This hole was originally blocked by yellow sand. If Sarah had not sensed that there was a strange disturbance remaining here, I’m afraid that it would have otherwise been difficult for us to discover.” One of the mercenaries bowed as he replied.

Hearing this, Noah gazed toward Sarah opposite him. He realized that the little girl had yellow sand stuck to her hair. However, her exquisite small face contained happiness.

Sensing that Noah’s gaze had looked over, Sarah’s eyes met him. Her small face was shy as she blinked at Noah.

“Haha, little girl, beautifully done.” Noah gently smiled at Sarah. Seeing that a brilliant smile surfaced on the little girl’s face as a result, Noah was satisfied. He slowly came to the pitch-black entrance and flipped his hand. A fireball appeared, which he threw into the hole.

The faint light emitted from the fireball rolled about in the pitch-black cave a couple of times before it gradually and completely disappeared.

“Looks like this tunnel isn’t a straight line.” Seeing the swift disappearance of the fireball, Noah nodded. He also released his mana sense, and soon he realized the tunnel channel down.

“Yes. We did an initial survey earlier. There are at least more than ten tunnels and each of them bend and turn all over, much like a huge serpent climbed through.” The mercenary who had led the way smiled bitterly and replied.

"I see…” Noah murmured to himself. “Why don’t I send people to search the tunnels one at a time?” Dylan’s voice suddenly came from behind. 

Turning around, Noah eyed both Dylan and Radley before shaking his head. “There may be some unknown danger below. The Desert Metal Mercenary Company has already mobilized so many people to help me locate the tunnel. I am already very satisfied. If I still let them enter, they may end up meeting something that injures or kills them. It would be a situation that I do not wish to see.”

[More importantly, there is no way that I'm letting you two near the Heavenly Flame without me around.] Noah refused immediately. He didn't trust the two brothers at all, no matter how much they helped him.

“He he, Noah my friend, you need not worry. Our Desert Metal Mercenary Company does not have anyone who is afraid of death.” The surrounding members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company laughed out loud.

“Why don’t we do it this way. I will pick over ten members who are quite strong and accompany you down to take a look. After all, I would be worried if I let you go down alone. If any accident were to happen, I could never forgive myself.” Dylan mused for a while before laughing softly.

This, of course, only reinforced Noah's resolve to never leave these two out of his eyes.

Hearing this, Noah only helplessly nodded his head. After thinking silently for a moment, he responded. “But if we meet any sudden situation below, I hope that you can lead everyone and retreat first. As for my safety, you don’t need to worry…”

Seeing Noah’s serious expression, Dylan and Radley exchanged a glance and nodded. After Noah had solved the problem with the Sand Mercenary Company last night, they no longer doubted the strength that he hid.

“That… Your Excellency… in the tunnel below, there is still the disturbance from a few days ago still remaining. I think that I should be able to lead you to find the right tunnel.” Just as Noah was prepared to move, Sarah’s timid voice suddenly caused his eyebrows to lift in interest.

“Really?” Swiftly tilting his head, Noah gazed at Sarah who was as cute as a porcelain doll. “Yes.” Seeing Noah’s happiness, Sarah covered her mouth and laughed as she nodded.

"What a useful little girl.” Leaping over the hole, Noah patted Sarah's small head. He faced Dylan and Radley with a smile. “Since it’s like that, shall we start?”

“Haha, alright.” Dylan smiled and nodded. His gaze swept around him before he swiftly said a few names. After which, he faced the rest and gave a grave order.

“Once we enter the tunnel, increase the defense around it. You must definitely not allow anyone to come and create trouble. This kind of sand structure isn’t very stable. If one isn’t careful, a cave-in might occur and bury the people inside it alive…”

“Company leader, you can be reassured that if anyone dares to enter this region during this period of time, we will be ruthless regardless of who they are!” Hearing Dylan’s order, the surrounding members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company had their faces covered with fierceness as they cried in unison.

“As for you younger brother. You will need to direct the situation up here once we go down. If we don’t put someone to take control of the situation above, I would feel a little uncertain.” After issuing his orders, Dylan still felt a little insecure, thus he once again spoke to Radley.

Hearing this, Radley, who had originally intended to follow, could only helplessly nod his head.

Once he had everything arranged appropriately, Dylan took out a large bundle of rope from one side. He tested the degree of toughness and then tied it to a wooden pillar that had been already fixed properly. At the same time, he threw the rope into the hole.

“The tunnel is not too precipitous. This rope is meant as an insurance. If the people below were to shout, the people above can use the rope to quickly pull us up.” Dylan said as he patted his hand.

Seeing that Dylan had even carefully thought of this, Noah smiled bitterly. He took the lead to arrive at the entrance of the tunnel, tilted his head and waved to Sarah by his side.

Noticing Noah's action, Sarah hurriedly ran over. A pair of strange dark green eyes stared intelligently at him.

Noah swept his gaze roughly at the dark green eyes, looking for the three demonic pupils, though they weren't there. He then extended his hand and pulled Sarah into his chest under her stunned face. “Later on, you will point out the way.” He said with a smile.

Being hugged by Noah, Sarah’s face gradually became crimson. She lowered her small face and gently nodded her head.

Noah nodded toward Dylan, grabbed the rope and jumped into the pitch-black hole. "Everyone, let's move!" With a shout, Dylan followed behind with his men.

[Heavenly Flame’… I wonder, what can I do with it…]   
Noah thought to himself as his body quickly glided over the tunnel while tightly hugging Sarah to his chest.


	83. Chapter 83

Within the pitch-black tunnel, Noah hugged Sarah tightly as they used the incline of the tunnel to continue descending. In Sarah’s hand was a Moonlight Stone. It emitted a gentle and faint light, allowing Noah to see if the route in front had any obstructions.

Not far behind the two of them, over ten faint lights closely followed. Everyone had their backs leaning against the tunnel’s wall which created a ‘chi chi’ sound that reverberated within the tunnel.

As his body was descending, Noah’s gaze swept across the two tunnel walls by the side. A long while later, he realized that the tunnel was extremely smooth. There were no rocks protruding from the wall. Looking at the tunnel, it would seem that it was created by some high Rank Earth Element Mage.

After two to three minutes of descending at the same speed, Noah finally saw the bottom of the tunnel. His legs bent slightly and a moment later, his bent body reached the ground, releasing a soft muffled sound. As his body straightened, he completely nullified the reverse force from his descent.

After landing on the ground, Noah released Sarah from his embrace. He pulled her, took a few steps forward and swept his gaze over the tunnels in front of him. As expected, he found over ten completely dark tunnels.

Shaking his head helplessly, Noah looked at Sarah. “You should try and sense for the right tunnel. It would require at least a few days before we could complete the search if we were to walk down each tunnel.”

“Yes.” Nodding her head, Sarah's small hand pulled Noah. Her eyes blinked and the three tiny green colored spots around her dark green pupils had quietly appeared.

Due to the dim light in the tunnel, Noah was unable to sense the change in Sarah’s eyes.

Sarah slowly closed her eyes and sensed the traces in the tunnels. The surroundings once again became quiet. A moment later, waves of soft muffled noises came from behind; and Noah knew that Dylan and the others had caught up.

Noah gestured to Dylan and the others to keep quiet and then pointed to the closed eyed Sarah.

Seeing his action, Dylan nodded his head. He made a hand signal and caused the people who had landed behind him to swallow their inquiry understandingly.

Placing the rope in his hand properly, Dylan and the other members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company slowly drew their weapons. After which, they quietly stepped forward, surrounded and protected Noah and Sarah in the middle. Their cautious gazes continued to sweep their surroundings.

The silence lasted for awhile before Sarah finally opened her dark green eyes in a gradual manner. Her small hand pointed to a tunnel that was slightly to their left. “Your Excellency, although the other tunnels also had some remnants of the disturbance, this tunnel has the densest one. Looks like whoever was here spent the longest time there a few days ago.”

Hearing this, Noah’s gaze swept toward the completely dark tunnel. This tunnel was clearly extremely long. When his gaze looked over, there was only a profound darkness. 

What's more, his mana sense was now becoming muddled, making it unusable. Noah could not help but frown when he noticed this situation.

Noah and Dylan exchanged glances. It appears that Dylan also noticed the problem with his mana sense. “Wait a moment…” Dylan shook his head towards Noah. After which, he turned around to a large man with a sturdy figure. “Han, can you probe a little to see if this tunnel has anything unusual hidden within.”

“Yes.” Hearing this, the large man called Han nodded his head. He walked toward the front of the pitch-black tunnel and bent over on the floor. He began muttering the spell for an Earth Element sensory spell. With Ham being an ordinary mortal, he had to recite the entire chant, which took some time.

“An Earth Element Mage?” Seeing Han’s chanting, Noah quickly guessed what Dylan was up to. "Yes. Han may not be a Ranked Mage, but he's still useful in situations like these. In this kind of unknown place, we must be extremely careful. Randomly charging around is not a wise move.”

“Haha, there’s really quite a number of unique people in the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. This kind of group cooperation is naturally much better than me randomly searching.” Noah gave some empty praise.

“It’s only some small tricks to survive.” Dylan carelessly shook his head. He then raised it and looked at the large man who had finished his probing. “How is it?”

“The probing isn’t complete…” Han frowned and shook his head. He smiled bitterly. “I have probed around a distance of five hundred meters but did not find any hidden disturbances."

"Just as I was planning to continue a little deeper, however, I found that the Earth Element particles had completely disappeared. Replacing it were extremely hot Fire Element particles. In that kind of environment, my probing became useless.”

“The Earth Element particles had disappeared?” Hearing this, Dylan was shocked. The area deep under the desert should be where the Earth Element particles were rich. How could they completely disappear?

“Looks like there is something strange inside.” Dylan softly muttered to himself. A hot flame jumped into his dark black eyes. The stranger this place was, the greater the chances of it possessing a ‘Heavenly Flame’. 

For Noah, who had been having a hard time searching for the Heavenly Flame, this was undoubtedly an exciting and good piece of news.

Seeing Noah’s happy manner, Dylan helplessly shook his head. He ended up swallowing some words of caution that he wanted to say.

“Let’s go in and take a look. If we see something wrong, I suggest that we retreat first and then do some proper planning. After all, we already know that the place is here. As long as we spend some time, we should be able to achieve our target.” Dylan said gravely.

Noah gently touched the beast teeth necklace on his neck and sighed. After placing Sarah behind him, he took the lead and walked into this dark tunnel.

Walking into the completely dark tunnel, Noah felt that his body was a little cold. He swept his squinted eyes across the sleek tunnel walls. His finger rubbed across his spatial ring and a few green colored potions were placed under his cloak.

“Remember, place a Moonlight Stone on the tunnel wall at every fifty meter mark…” Dylan, who was behind Noah, softly ordered the members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company.

In front of him, Noah spent his time thinking of many plans on how to kill Dylan in case of betrayal. More than ten human figures, with the help of the light from the Moonlight Stones, slowly walked within the pitch-black tunnel. 

As they were unsure of what kind of dangers there were, everyone maintained an unusual silence. Throughout the journey, other than the faint rustling of their footsteps, everything was quiet.

Within the tunnel which was quite dark, no one had any sense of time. Everyone simply continued to progress in a somewhat stiff manner. As for the tunnel, it appeared as though it was never ending and no one could see the light at the end. 

This kind of scene was as though they were continuously walking toward the center of the world. As they began to go deeper into the tunnel, Noah suddenly felt the coldness that was covering his body abruptly disappear. Replacing it was a faint warmth.

Feeling this change, Noah’s footsteps gradually paused. He turned his head to look at Dylan and others. Seeing the shock on their faces, he decided to explain. 

“It’s not that the Earth Element particles have disappeared. Rather it is that the Fire Element particles are too dense that they suppress the Earth Element particles to the point where they are very hard to sense…”

Right now, because of the sheer density of Fire Element particles, Noah's combat strength increased drastically. Surprisingly, his strength in Fire Element was now just a little below General Rank. 

[What a miraculous effect. If I use the Heavenly Flame as a core, would it be possible for me to build a Blessed Land?] Noah began wanting the Heavenly Flame more and more.

A Blessed Land is a sub space similar to Great Warlock Cadeus's inheritance ground. It is a small dimension cut off from the real world, full of Elemental particles. High ranking Mages such as Magistrate Ranks usually spend most of their time in their respective Blessed Lands, training to someday break through to Ruler Rank.

Noah also possessed a Blessed Land in his past life, though unfortunately he was forced to destroy it so as it wouldn't fall into the hands of someone else.

“We had only just entered the region of the Fire Element particles, yet it is already so dense. If we continue ahead, just how terrifying will it be? Don’t tell me that under this place there really is the existence of a Heavenly Flame?” Dylan said in an astonished voice.

Noah pursed up his lips. Desire rose within his eyes. Heavenly Flame. Blessed Land. The advantage this could bring to him would be astronomical!

“Let’s go. Continue to descend. Everyone, if you cannot withstand the grilling from the surrounding Fire Element particles, then please stop. Otherwise if you were to continue going down, you might be burnt to ashes…” Noah turned around and said seriously.

“Yes, Your Excellency.” Seeing the serious expression on Noah’s face, no one dared take his words lightly. They immediately nodded their heads in response.

“Sarah, if you feel that you cannot endure any longer, then do as I have said. Do you understand?” Lowering his head, Noah told Sarah gravely. After all, he wasn't sure if the green demonic pupils would still remain if she died. He would prefer to research her alive.

“Yes.” Sarah nodded her head obediently. Looking at the expression on Sarah’s small face, it appeared that the surrounding hot Fire Element particles weren't displeasing her, which Noah dutifully noted to himself.

Once he had given the appropriate orders, Noah tightened his fist and strode toward the inner regions of the increasingly deep tunnel. 

On the remaining part of the journey, the surrounding Fire Element particles grew increasingly dense as everyone went deeper. A few members who were a little weaker began to be unable to tolerate the high temperature and helplessly chose to withdraw.

Although there were some who pulled back, the descent continued. At the very end, only Noah, Dylan, and Sarah endured and pushed forward. The rest all pulled out when they could not withstand the increasingly irritable Fire Element particles.

As they went deeper, Noah’s expression also grew increasingly serious. Besides being serious, there was a faint unrestrained joy. It was because his strength continued growing. Right now, it could actually equal a General Rank Mage. This was the first time he felt such a thing.

The Heavenly Flame truly did make for a spectacular material in creating a Blessed Land. Perhaps, it would even be possible to create a Grotto-Heaven.

“We’re almost there…” After taking a turn around another corner, a red colored light appeared at the end of the tunnel a short distance away. Seeing this, Noah’s body shivered excitedly. He wiped off the perspiration on his face. His voice was hoarse as he said dryly.

The three people increased their speed for the final stretch. They swiftly passed through this short route and finally arrived at the end of the tunnel.

Standing at the end of the tunnel, the three of them watched the fiery, red world in front of them with their faces filled with surprise.


	84. Chapter 84

Fiery red magma was slowly flowing within the enormous crypt. Occasionally, there would be huge bubbles of air floating out from within it. A moment later, there would be a soft ‘bang’ as the bubbles burst apart. The hot magma would shoot out from within, appearing as beautiful as a fiery, red firework.

Standing at the end of the small tunnel, Noah, Dylan, and Sarah stared at the never ending magma world. Other than being shocked, they all involuntarily swallowed their saliva.

“I didn’t expect… that hidden under Rock Desert City, there would be such a terrifying place.” With a small wind tornado around his body, Dylan wiped the sweat from his face and sighed with shock.

“Yes, what a majestic underground magma world…” Noah’s body didn't need protection. Despite the surrounding temperature also causing his entire body to feel hot, it wasn't as bad for him as it was for Dylan.

Noah barely even broke a sweat. “Where do we go now? There isn’t any path left. Moreover, my affinity is Wind Element, which doesn't help me in this situation. If I did not possess the strength of an Officer Rank, I think that I wouldn’t have been able to reach here. However… this is my limit.” Dylan smiled bitterly at Noah.

Noah nodded his head. If his affinity was not of the Fire Element, he would not have been able to endure being grilled by the high temperature and would have given up. 

Moreover, ever since they had arrived at the dead end, Noah clearly realized that the Fire Element particles here were hotter and wilder than how they were in the tunnel.

This development made him very satisfied. If Dylan gives up and leaves now, Noah won't need to resort to killing him.

Noah lowered his head and watched Sarah who had been following behind him. He could not help but become stunned. Compared to Dylan's sweat filled face, Sarah appeared much more relaxed. 

It should be known that Sarah did not possess much strength and was quite weak, even as an ordinary mortal.

Noah, who was staring intently at Sarah, could feel that the girl’s body was emitting a never ending amount of Ice Element particles. It was largely due to these particles that Sarah could continue following them until the end of the tunnel.

[This girl really does have some strange points. Was this due to the Snake-People bloodline in her? But even if a true Snake-Person were to arrive at such a place, they would also wail and choose to withdraw.] Noah knitted his eyebrows together, feeling even more interest in the girl.

“What do you want to do now?” Dylan stared at the rolling magma world before asking. “I want to go in and take a look…” Noah answered without hesitation.

“Go in? Entering that magma? There isn’t any path left. Don’t tell me you want to swim over?” Hearing the words, Dylan’s expression changed as he reproved slightly.

“Haha. Naturally it is not possible to swim over. With the temperature here, even a Warrior would melt, much less a Mage." Noah smiled and shook his head. 

He stood in front of the magma and released his mana sense. However, he wasn't looking for anything. Instead, he focused his mana sense, and by extension, his mental strength, into the surrounding Fire Element particles.

Even though a mana sense was suppressed down here in an unknown way, Noah didn't need to exert himself much if he was just going to collect Elemental particles.

What Dylan saw next shocked him to his very core. The surrounding Fire Element particles, which were dense enough to be seen with a naked eye, actually formed a pathway in front of Noah!

"N-Noah, you're a Magistrate Rank Mage?!" Dylan blurted out, also surprising Sarah next to him. "No, I'm not." Noah answered while stepping on the crimson red pathway, effectively standing in the air.

"B-but that's air walking! It can only be done by someone who crystalized the mana in their soul orb to 100%, that's a Magistrate Rank ability!" Dylan began frantically speaking, as if he was convincing himself.

"It can also be done by controlling an immense amount of Elemental particles in the air, I just used the same principle as Magistrate Rank Mages. It's nothing special." Noah's answer stunned Dylan to the point that he couldn't even say anything.

"Haah, alright." In the end he just rubbed his temples in frustration and kept quiet. Noah changed the topic. “Later, I will independently go in and take a look. Dylan, you should bring Sarah along and take the same path back.”

“Wait. Even if you have the help of air wa- that ability , the temperature in this crypt is also extremely terrifying. With your strength, how can you withstand it for a very long time?” Dylan cautiously said as he extended his hand to halt Noah.

“Haha. Believe me. Nothing will happen.” Noah laughed softly in return. Dylan frowned and stared intently at Noah. A long while later, he helplessly nodded. “Be careful. If there are any changes, hurry out.”

“Yes.” Noah smiled and nodded. He was just about to turn his body around and take action when a cold small hand suddenly pulled at him. “Your Excellency, wait… there seems to be something in the magma!”

Sarah hurriedly said as she grabbed Noah's cloak tightly. Her dark green eyes stared at the never ending fiery red magma.

“What?” Hearing this, Noah and Dylan beside her were startled. They immediately swept their eyes hurriedly over the magma but did not discover anything other than a few huge rocks.

“Sarah, what did you sense?” In such a dangerous place, Noah did not dare to be careless so he immediately inquired seriously.

“Within the magma, there seems to be something existing. I can sense it's small veiled presence… it is very strong…” Sarah’s gaze was totally focused as she stared deep into the repeatedly rolling magma. 

A glow surfaced in her deep green eyes. It was as though she had passed through the obstruction of the magma and was seeing the mysterious thing hidden under it.

“There’s a living creature?” Dylan’s face was shocked. There was actually a living creature under this magma which was so hot that it could melt steel? It had to have been a strong monster. “Yes.”

“Is this the presence that you sensed a few days ago?” Dylan asked in a deep voice while frowning as he watched the rolling bubbles in the flowing magma.

“No… that presence was even stronger than this one.” Sarah shook her head and said. “It's strength is slightly greater than Berman from the Sand Mercenary Company.” Sarah gestured with her small hand as she softly said. 

She had lived her entire life within the Rock Desert City. The strongest person she had seen was Berman at peak Officer Rank. Thus, she could only use him as a reference of comparison.

“Slightly stronger than Berman…” Noah mumbled. His voice was a little heavier on the word ‘slightly’. From this kind of comparison by Sarah, Noah could roughly guess the strength of the thing that was hiding in the magma. 

Back then, that mysterious presence was at least that of General Rank. Thus, Sarah described Berman as being much, much weaker than it. According to this reasoning, the living creature in the magma should have the strength of a peak Officer Rank, but it's racial advantage should make it a bit stronger…

Noah had a bad feeling about this. If a monster lives in magma, then it's Element is undoubtedly Fire. If Noah was a peak Officer Rank in Fire Element, plus the boost from the Fire Element particles, both of them would be tied in strength. But now... [I'll have to use Niolo to win. But these two are a problem.]

If he was seen associating with a demon, everything Noah did to get on Dylan's and Sarah's good side would be in vain. He might even be attacked by Dylan, thus forcing Noah to kill him.

“Haah…” Noah narrowed his eyes and exhaled his breath. He mused for a moment before he shook his head helplessly. “Regardless of whether there is something hiding underneath, I must go in and take a look. The thing I need should be in this magma.”

“Dylan, leave with Sarah. I will give it a try." Turning his head around, Noah gave his request to Dylan. Without waiting for a response, he stepped off the cliff toward the magma below. 

Seeing Noah walking in midair, Dylan could only helplessly nod his head. However, he remained worried and did not immediately leave. Instead, he pulled Sarah back into the tunnel while his gaze stared intently at Noah’s body walking above the magma.

Noah slowly moved above the magma. The Fire Element particles formed under his every step. His mana sense also passed through his body and spread out as Noah cautiously scanned his surroundings. 

It appeared that the hidden living creature that Sarah had mentioned gave Noah quite a bit of pressure. In this kind of harsh environment, he really had to focus his attention to handle the different kinds of dangers that could suddenly occur.

Within the crypt, the temperature was extremely terrifying. Noah’s body was of the Fire affinity and even he was sweating profusely. Every so often, he had to take out a bottle of water and drink. 

Due to the many obstacles present, Noah did not walk very quickly. He hovered above the magma and slowly swept his gaze across it. Naturally, he did not make even the slightest noise as he moved, worried that he may end up attracting an attack from the mysterious living creature in the magma.

As he flew through the air, Noah increasingly felt that the crypt was huge. The surrounding flow of magma had already aggregated here to form an enormous magma lake. 

Occasionally, with a hot wave of air surging upwards, a fiery red magma pillar would suddenly shoot up. Each time this happened, it would force Noah to quickly move away, lest he be melted into nothing.

As Noah walked above the magma, his skin glowed faintly red. The clothes on his body also became particularly dry. If there were a spark now, his clothes would immediately combust, leaving only his white cloak behind.

After walking forward for some time, Noah turned his head back slightly. He realized that the already small exit had already become even smaller. At the exit of the crypt, two tiny figures were staring intently at him.

Seeing the two figures, Noah shook his head in annoyance. [When will they leave already? I can't fight properly like this.] He was about to wave his hand to show that he was fine when Sarah’s sharp voice suddenly screamed.

“Your Excellency! It is following you! Hurry back here!” Hearing the sharp scream, Noah felt his head prickle. His body did not hesitate and changed directions in an instant. He immediately ran back towards the exit.

Just as Noah’s body moved, the calm magma lake under him suddenly let out a muffled sound. Numerous beams of hot magma violently shot out in an instant.

As the magma was flying in all directions, a mysterious living creature with a huge body suddenly burst fiercely out from the magma. In a lightning like manner, it turned its body toward the fleeing Noah and bit at him.


	85. Chapter 85

The mysterious living creature broke out from the magma and let out a sharp hiss. It shot explosively toward Noah in mid air, sending magma flying randomly around. The calm magma lake had suddenly become irritable. Numerous magma flame pillars shot up, giving off a very majestic scene.

In the air, Noah pushed his strength to the limit. The sudden surging magma lake had also caused the skin on his head to turn numb. He clenched his teeth tightly as he fled with all his might.

With his Paragon Rank body, Noah's speed was great. However, the mysterious creature’s speed did not lose to his. As the hissing sound disappeared, it took off at a speed faster than expected for its size. 

It gradually caught up with Noah, opened its huge mouth sinisterly and shot out two fork like bright red tongues like sharp arrows. 

“Your Excellency. Be careful. It is behind you!” At the tunnel’s exit, Sarah screamed with a sharp voice as she stared at the huge living creature which was gradually catching up with Noah. Her face was filled with shock.

By her side, Dylan’s face was covered with anxiety. He wanted to go and help but he was unable to go over. All he could do was was pace up and down anxiously in the tunnel.

Upon hearing Sarah’s sharp scream, the fast moving Noah felt the skin on his body tighten. At the same time, a hot force was shot from behind him.

He did not even have the time to turn around. As he came close, his feet kicked heavily on a huge rock pillar beside him that was hanging from the ceiling. "As an Officer of Magic, I command thee, Chain Explosion!" 

Three explosions appeared behind him, their force destroying the rock pillar and launching Noah away from the attack following behind.

Noah’s body folded into a bow shape. His clothes tightly stuck to his skin as his body tightened and instantly shot out like an arrow leaving a bow. His speed abruptly increased.

Borrowing the force from the three explosions, Noah avoided the lethal blow from the mysterious living creature behind him. At the same time, he extended the distance between them by a little.

“Hisss!” Seeing that its prey, that was about to reach its mouth, had escaped, the mysterious living creature let out a furious hiss. Its huge tail violently swung outwards. Instantly, the tough rock pillars that had been struck by hot magma countless times before, exploded.

When the rock pillar exploded, countless rocks rained down. The mysterious creature’s tail continued to violently swing around. Any rock fragment that came into contact with the tail became like a cannonball that had just been released, viciously and angrily shooting toward the fleeing Noah.

The waves of exploding noise that sounded from behind him caused Noah to worry again. He released his mana sense and surrounded the area a few meters around him. His body then began to twist and turn in a strange manner.

*Swish swish!* Numerous rock fragments with sharp edges carried a sharp piercing sound as they continued to pass by Noah’s skin. Twisting and turning his body, Noah continued to narrowly dodge the repeated attacks from the rock fragments. 

However when they narrowly passed by his body, the sharp force with the rocks left numerous bleeding wounds on Noah’s body.

*Bang!* Some of the rock fragments that missed continued to shoot forward for some distance before they smashed against other hard magma hardened rocks. 

Instantly, the fragments exploded, leaving behind numerous cracked lines on the hard rocks, revealing just how frightening the force contained in them was. If Noah was struck by one because he was inattentive, he might lose his fighting ability on the spot and plunge into the magma, turning to ashes in moments.

Seeing the numerous crack lines on the magma enforced rocks, cold sweat involuntarily appeared on Dylan’s forehead as he prayed for Noah's safety.

[This thing actually knows how to use other objects to attack. Clearly its intellect isn’t low...] A thought flashed quickly in Noah's mind. Just as he felt that things were becoming troublesome, his feet stomped violently on another rock pillar. His speed once again increased drastically.

With the distance gained from his increased speed, Noah turned his head around with great difficulty. His gaze was focused intently on the mysterious creature not far behind him and could not help but take in a breath of cool air.

This mysterious living creature that had suddenly come out of the magma was a monster with a serpent like shape. Its body was extremely long. With a rough glance, it appeared to be at least forty to fifty meters long and it’s entire body was fiery red. 

Looking from a distance, it seemed like a round hill. Its entire body was covered with palm-sized, red colored scales. The most eye catching part was that the beast had two heads branching out from the long neck region. 

The two sinister heads had huge rhombus shaped eyes which were filled with wildness and a bloodthirsty killing intent.

[What a strange thing. Just what kind of monster is this?] Noah believed that it could've mutated because of a huge number of Fire Element particles. 

He noticed that the two headed snake suddenly slowed down. Their neck area appeared to be gradually swelling, it seemed like they intended to spit something out.

Seeing this strange scene, Noah was immediately reminded of something. He immediately chanted another Chain Explosion and swiftly halted his forward motion and shot his body upwards.

Just as Noah’s body shot upwards, the two-headed snake behind him sinisterly opened their mouths. Two huge magma pillars that were formed from magma and flame were suddenly spat out like a volcanic eruption. 

Instantly, two turbulent magma columns viciously shot toward Noah. *Bang!* One of the flame column attacks savagely swept passed two meters under Noah. 

The high temperature that it contained burnt a section of Noah’s pants. The burning sensation that was emitted from his skin didn't even make him react as he carefully observed the monster's attack.

One of the flame columns might have missed but the other passed through midair in a lightning like manner, leaving a crimson colored flame trail while carrying a destructive force as it was about to violently knock into Noah.

At the tunnel exit a distance away, Dylan and Sarah wore frightened expressions as they watched Noah who was about to be swallowed by the flame column.

The high temperature that suddenly appeared behind him immediately burnt the clothes on Noah’s back into ashes. His originally slightly burned skin had turned totally red. The only thing left was the white cloak.

Noah landed on the ceiling as the corner of his eyes drifted behind him. He found out that the huge magma pillar had completely surrounded the area a few meters around him. 

In the short amount of time, it was impossible to escape from the region that the flame column covered. And to make matters worse, the second head of the monster already began firing another magma pillar.

A smug expression appeared in the monster's eyes for a moment. "I guess it's time to stop observing. It seems like it has nothing left." Noah touched the beast teeth necklace around his neck and poured mana inside.

In the next moment, the beast illusions surrounded Noah and threw themselves at the incoming magma pillar. *Boom!* With a loud explosion, the beast illusions became more transparent than before.

Behind the cover of the explosions, Noah used the chance to shoot himself in the direction of the exit. When the monster saw this, it became furious, shooting another magma flame column into the magma lake.

When the huge magma flame column entered the magma lake, it performed a sort of catalytic function. An uncountable number of huge magma pillars repeatedly shot out from the calm lake surface as many banging muffled noises sounded.

This extremely frightening scene was somewhat reminiscent of hell’s inferno. Standing within the tunnel, Dylan and Sarah watched the magma world which had suddenly turned extremely wild. 

In their shock, they involuntarily swallowed their saliva. In front of this enormous natural disaster, the strength of a human seemed to appear extremely small...

"What the hell is that monster? We would need a few Ice and Water Element Mages before we even think about killing it in it's home." Dylan surmised that this expedition is a failure. Noah would be happy if he even came out alive.

*Bang!* Just as the two people were staring with stunned expressions, a magma pillar suddenly shot into the air from the magma lake and landed a short distance from the tunnel. The hot magma splashed and rained in all directions.

Seeing the spraying magma, Dylan hurriedly pulled Sarah and hurriedly retreated for some distance before they managed to avoid the hot droplets of magma.

“How is Noah? Where is he?” Standing in the tunnel, Dylan spoke in an extremely anxious voice the instant his sight was completely blocked by the exploding magma.

Beside him. Sarah’s small face was also pale. Her utterly helpless manner appeared extremely timid and anxious.

Just as the two of them were anxious to the point of being mad, a human figure suddenly shot out from the magma lake and swerved about recklessly into magma pillars.

Seeing the human figure directly knock a path through countless magma pillars, Dylan felt a little shock in his heart as he rejoiced. Noah was actually able to ignore the high temperature of the magma? Was this not a little too terrifying?

After rushing through the last magma pillar, the human figure, whose body was entirely covered in a blood red light, finally charged into the tunnel. His palm held a small skull cross artifact as he continued to pant out the coarse air. 

At that moment, the Noah's clothes had already been burnt until they became stripes in dire condition. His skin was also entirely red. 

Seeing Noah’s pitiful appeareance, Dylan sighed in relief before hurriedly asking. "Are you alright?"

Noah smiled as he nodded. Leaning his back onto the tunnel wall, he slowly sat down. His gaze focused onto the lake. Perhaps it was because it had lost its target but the two-headed snake merely swam slowly on the magma’s surface. 

It's four huge chestnut eyes continued to scan it's surroundings. Due to the cover given by the magma filled air, its search was futile. All it could do was hiss angrily. Its huge tail swung around wildly, causing the magma lake to repeatedly seeth and surge.


	86. Chapter 86

“What do we do now? With this creature guarding, you don’t have a chance to enter.” Sitting beside Noah, Dylan asked with a worried face. Noah sighed gently. [If you two just left I could've already killed it.] He took out a few healing potions and spare clothes.

“Regardless of what happens, I must get my hands on this Heavenly Flame. I know how difficult it is to obtain a Heavenly Fame so I’m already mentally prepared. The difficulty now does not exceed the level which I can bare.”

“You still want to try? Seeing the attacking strength of that two-headed snake, its strength should be around that of a peak Officer Rank, and since this place is it's home turf, it has an advantage. Moreover, this place is filled with hot magma. Even if a team of Officers were to come here, they would have difficulty in killing it!” Hearing Noah’s words, Dylan frowned and said gravely.

“Hehe, if this beast wants to block me, then I’ll have to kill it." Noah laughed softly. His eyes stared intently at the huge two-headed snake in the magma lake. He relaxed, slowly closed his eyes and began recovering mana he had lost while fleeing earlier.

Seeing that Noah did not show any intentions of giving up, Dylan could only shake his head in defeat. Although he believed that Noah had many hidden cards, the chances of successfully beating this two-headed snake, which was unaffected by the magma, in this environment was basically nothing in Dylan’s eyes.

Seated in this tunnel, Dylan stared blankly at the magma world outside. He started thinking of ways in which he could pull this bull-headed Noah out.

On one side, Sarah also carefully sat by Noah’s side. When her dark green eyes swept across Noah’s skin which was grilled red and slowly recovering, sadness could not help but flash in her eyes.

As the three of them gradually became quiet, the explosive movement of the magma lake also calmed down. When the exploding magma pillars calmed down, the two-headed snake which had been scanning all around, finally focused it's gaze onto the tunnel. 

When it found the three people in the tunnel, an excited bloodthirsty screech suddenly sounded inside the hot crypt.

“This is bad. It has discovered us!” Within the tunnel, Dylan involuntarily cried out as he stared at the savage gaze the two-headed snake was giving them.

As Dylan said those words, the two-headed snake swung its two huge heads. An instant later, a hot magma column suddenly shot toward the tunnel. 

From the looks of it, if it shot into the tunnel, the three people within it would be devoured by the high temperature magma in the blink of an eye.

The hot magma column was like a savage fire dragon and it shot directly towards the tunnel at a dangerous angle. However, beast illusions once again made their appeareance, blocking the magma column with their bodies before disappearing.

Noah now opened his eyes. "Time for round two. Dylan, you really should leave right now." Dylan looked at Noah bewildered. "Wait, are you actually going to fight it again? You saw what it did to you, you can't win against that by yourself!" 

[That's your fault though. Why don't you just listen...] Noah let out a sigh. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll merely stall it a little so that you can make some distance. I'll follow right after." Dylan looked at Noah and finally nodded.

At the same time, the snake monster was already getting too close. Just a minute later, and it would already be late to escape. "Fine. We'll come back later with a plan." Dylan finally listened, to Noah's pleasure.

*Hisss!* Suddenly, the huge snake monster emitted a sound as it opened its menacing huge mouth and gradually appeared outside the tunnel. It's two pairs of eyes were filled with bloodthirstiness as it stared savagely at the three people in the tunnel.

"Crimson Javelin." A javelin made of crimson flame flew at the snake monster, hitting one of the heads and knocking it back. *Hissss!* The snake monster responded by lifting it's tail and swinging it at Noah.

"Humph!" Noah used the full power of his body, launching himself at the snake tail. The tail and his fist collided, knocking back the tail and slamming Noah into the stone wall. "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

"Let's go, Sarah!” Seeing the battle between the two, Dylan grabbed Sarah and immediately retreated quickly. A sneer that held ridicule flashed across the snake monster’s huge eyes as it watched the two flee. 

With it's huge mouth opened, it pulled back one of it's heads. A terrifying suction force suddenly appeared. 

Instantly, Dylan and Sarah fell backwards and were slowly dragged by this suction force toward the snake monster, while Noah was busy with distracting the other head.

When the suction force reached it's peak, the snake monster widened it's mouth further. A terrifying pushing force explosively surged outwards, smashing Dylan and Sarah heavily onto the wall.

With his body slamming heavily onto the wall, Dylan groaned in pain. Sarah, on the other hand, did not receive much injury with Dylan as a cushion. However, as she watched the savage serpent head closing in, her small face was frightened till it became completely white.

Perhaps it was due to the Snake-People bloodline in Sarah’s body but the snake monster seemed to be somewhat interested in her. It's eyes swept across her. 

Opening it's huge mouth, a violent suction force pulled her, causing her to flip in midair before rolling down to where the tunnel was.

"Don’t come over..." Seeing the increasingly close enormous savage snake head, Sarah continued to move backwards with her pale exquisite face.

*Hiss...* The monster snake extended its scarlet snake tongue and hovered over Sarah’s small body. The stench from the snake tongue nearly caused Sarah to faint.

In the interior of the tunnel, Dylan watched Sarah who was about to be swallowed by the snake monster. He wanted to rescue her but the attack from the snake monster before had caused him to temporarily lose his ability to move. 

At that moment, he could only watch with his own eyes as the snake monster’s tongue continued to move slowly over Sarah’s body. 

It's snake tongue licked Sarah’s small hand. *Bam!* "Why didn't you leave yet?" An icy cold voice came from Noah as he again punched the other snake head, sending it flying. He was currently extremely annoyed by Dylan's uselessness and inability to just leave.

The other head of the snake monster suddenly turned around and saw Noah swiftly rushing over with the intent to attack.

A savageness appeared in it's eyes. The soft snake tongue instantly turned as hard as steel. Immediately, it pierced ruthlessly toward Sarah’s chest.

"Aaaaaahhh!" In Sarah's dark green eyes that appeared to be carved from a green diamond, the scarlet snake’s tongue continued to expand. Due to the increasing terror in her heart, Sarah tore open her throat and unleashed a loud and sharp resounding screech.

Following this resounding screech, three dark green colored tiny spots beside the side of her pair of dark green eyes suddenly surfaced.

The three green colored spots that appeared this time around were much clearer than any other time. If one took a closer look, one would discover that these three green colored tiny spots were like three flower buds.

The screech continued resounding through the air. As the screech grew louder and clearer, the three green colored spots in Sarah’s eyes suddenly let out a bright glow. The three spots transformed into three tiny green colored flowers in an instant.

Following the appearance of these strange green colored flowers, an intense glow suddenly shot out from Sarah’s eyes and struck the snake monster in front of her.

Being exposed to this somewhat strange glow, the huge body of the snake monster suddenly stiffened. It's pair of huge eyes were filled with some fear as they stared at the little girl in front of it.

The strange glow slowly moved on the snake monster’s body and finally stopped at the middle of the two foreheads of the two snake heads.

After the glow stopped moving, it began to gradually shrink. As the size of the glow became smaller, the light that it gave off grew increasingly rich.

The area of the glow continued to become smaller. At the end, it was around the size of a palm. When the glow shrunk to this size, it ceased becoming smaller. 

A beam of light shot out and two small green colored flowers were imprinted onto the two heads of the snake monster.

After the flowers appeared, the glow began to gradually disappear. A moment later, the tiny flowers swiftly disappeared from Sarah’s eyes and her eyes returned to their original dark green in an instant.

After her eyes returned to normal, Sarah’s body swayed. Her eyelids fell and she collapsed on the ground.

That huge snake monster continued to foolishly stay on the spot after Sarah collapsed. However, every time it swept its gaze onto the girl on the ground, the viciousness and savageness would involuntarily disappear. Replacing it was actually meekness.

*Bam!* When the snake monster was in a daze, Noah finally broke through the air and appeared. His fist viciously smashed onto it's huge body. Instantly, fresh blood was splashed as it was beaten badly.

*Hissss!* Having received a heavy blow again, the snake monster finally regained consciousness. It turned it's huge body and stared furiously at Noah. 

However, instead of attacking, the snake monster actually withdrew into the magma and left. "Interesting. What was that green light just now?" Eyeing the snake monster which chose to flee, Noah's mind already began working.

He then swiftly appeared by Sarah's side. In a hurried manner, he picked her up and placed his finger below her nose, heaving a sigh of relief when he felt a breath.

Noah withdrew an injury healing potion from his spatial ring and forced it into Sarah’s mouth. He then carried her and gradually walked into the tunnel. 

When he saw the wounded Dylan, he gave a bitter smile and handed him an injury healing potion as well. “How is it? Is there something wrong?”

"Cough, it’s nothing serious. I will be alright after resting for awhile." Dylan took the potion and swallowed it, before exhaling and smiled bitterly. [You didn't even do anything...] 

Noah leaned against the wall, slowly sat down and hugged Sarah into his chest. He rubbed his dust covered face. "Too bad. I haven’t found the Heavenly Flame..." [I also almost lost a valuable research specimen.]

“Later, bring Sarah back with you. I will stay here and continue searching. Don’t worry. That beast will only flee when it sees me now. There isn’t anything here that can hurt me here. Noah mused for a moment before turning his head as he told Dylan.

“Oh… alright. If we continue to stay here, we will only be a burden to you.” Hearing this, Dylan helplessly nodded his head. [Why didn't you just leave earlier?] Noah hid an annoyed expression. He still had to get into Dylan's good books.

"However, the crypt here is so huge and there are flames all over. It won’t be a simple thing for you to search for the Heavenly Flame."

"Don't worry, I have my ways." Noah responded with a light laugh. "Ughh…” Just now, Sarah, who was on his chest, slowly woke up. She shook her dizzy small head and lifted it. 

When she saw Noah hugging her, her face reddened as her small fingers rubbed her temple. She suddenly said softly. “Your Excellency, I may be able to locate where the Heavenly Flame is.”

“Oh?” Hearing this, Noah and Dylan were initially at a loss. Noah suddenly thought of something, but decided to ask. “How would you know?”

Sarah pressed her lips together and smiled. She then escaped Noah’s embrace and ran toward the cave entrance. "Come out!" With her hands around her small mouth, she shouted.

As her shout died off, the huge snake monster suddenly lifted its body from the calm magma lake. After which, it slowly swam toward the tunnel exit.

Seeing the snake monster, Noah smiled as he understood something. He quickly stood up, grabbed his skull cross artifact and intently watched the snake monster.


	87. Chapter 87

“Your Excellency, don’t hit it. It will not attack us.” Noticing Noah’s action, Sarah hurriedly grabbed him and said. "How do you know?" Noah’s eyes stared intently at the snake monster. When he realized that it currently did not possess any intention to attack, a thought already formed in his mind.

“I’m not too sure..." Sarah shook her head and took two steps forward. Her dark green eyes stared at the huge creature in front of her and she said with an uncertain voice. “I don’t know why, but I seem to have built a strange bond with it. I can sense it’s thoughts...”

[Indeed!] Noah's eyes shined. His gaze swept across the snake monster in front of him that had suddenly become docile. Finally, his gaze stopped at the green colored flower on one of it’s foreheads. That thing was something that was not present before.

"Haha, little girl, you're quite lucky!" Noah laughed and patted Sarah's head. Seeing her confused state, Noah further explained. "You've just made a contract with the snake monster. In the future, it will serve as your bodyguard." 

Both Sarah and Dylan looked at Noah with great surprise. "Wait, you mean, she can control that thing?" Dylan asked in disbelief. 

"But that's not how contracts work. You can only form a contract by using a contract scroll, and you have to pay a price depending on the strength of the Mage signing it! A forceful contract completely in the favor of the caster is unheard of!" 

[A forceful contract with a monster that ignores strength difference and mana sustainability and it allows for sharing senses. Even I'm getting tempted here.] Noah silently contemplated to himself.

However, there was one crucial condition that wasn't addressed. What happens if the monster dies? In a typical contract like this, a person who is too weak to control the monster must compensate for the gap with something else, usually life force or their life.

Noah didn't know if what Sarah just signed was a life bound contract or not. If it was, then he would abandon the idea of taking Sarah's eyes for himself immediately.

But, if the snake monster died and Sarah wasn't affected in any way, then it would truly be a terrifying ability that he apsolutely has to get his hands on. [Of course, Dylan will probably place more importance to her now. I'll have to change the plan.]

"So the snake monster knows where the Heavenly Flame is?" Noah asked. "Ah, yes, Your Excellency, it knows where the Heavenly Flame is.” Sarah nodded with a smile. Hearing that, Noah's face brightened. "Wonderful. Can you ask it where is?"

“Hm…” Sarah closed her eyes and thought quietly for a moment. She then opened her eyes, swept her gaze in all directions and finally pointed awkwardly at the hot magma lake below. "It says… it is underneath." She said in a timid voice.

Noah's gaze followed the direction of Sarah's finger and shifted to the hot fiery red magma lake. [So it's down there. Well, I can use the skull cross artifact to survive the lava, but I don't know how deep down it is...]

Standing by the side, Sarah watched Noah with his swiftly changing expression and was also extremely uncertain. She did not dare vouch for the information that the snake monster passed to her. If something were to happen to Noah after he jumped down, it was likely she would be in blame.

After being quiet for a while, Noah made a decision. He turned his head toward Sarah. "Can you ask it to lead the way below?"

“Ah…” Hearing Noah's words, Sarah’s small body immediately trembled. She could only close her eyes and give the orders to the snake monster.

Upon receiving the order, an unwillingness flashed in the snake monster’s huge eyes. However, the forceful connection meant that it could only hiss toward Noah and dive into the magma. It then lifted it's huge head and watched the unmoving Noah with both ridicule and provocation.

Noah took out his skull cross artifact, alongside the mirror and cloak artifacts. A moment later, under both Sarah and Dylan’s shocked gaze, leaped head first into the hot magma.

Seeing Noah leap into the magma, Dylan’s and Sarah’s hearts suddenly became extremely anxious. Their eyes stared intently at the swiftly falling figure.

An intense and hot wind blew past Noah’s ear. He indifferently looked at the magma below, activating his skull cross artifact.

The temperature grew increasingly hot and at one instance, he felt that he was completely isolated from the racket of the outside world.

*Splash!* Following this clear sound similar to plunging into water, Noah completely disappeared inside the magma. 

Hearing this sound, Dylan and Sarah above hurriedly shifted their gaze toward the spot on the magma where there were some ripples. However, they did not see any human figure.

“Where is he?” Watching the scene that suggested something had instantly vaporised, Dylan involuntarily turned his head to Sarah by his side and shouted.

“Ah?” Sarah took a small step back. Her face was pale as she eyed the calm magma lake. The person who had just jumped into it seemed to have instantly turned into ashes the moment he came into contact with the magma, without even letting out a scream.

“Hiss…” A hissing sound from the snake monster was suddenly emitted from the magma. Hearing this hissing sound, a joyful expression surfaced on Sarah’s face. Her gaze hurriedly swept across the magma. 

A human figure covered with a thick blood red membrane suddenly surfaced from the magma and smiled as he waved toward Dylan and Sarah above.

“Thank goodness… luckily nothing happened.” Seeing Noah who appeared to disregard the surrounding hot magma, Sarah finally and completely sighed in relief. Her entire body sat on the ground with exhaustion as she wiped the cold sweat from her face.

"Can we go now?" Noah spoke to the snake monster. Hearing Noah's question, the snake monster simply ignored him. It shifted its head to face the tunnel’s exit and waited for Sarah to nod her head and issue an order before it unwillingly turned it's body and dived into the magma.

Seeing that the snake monster caused circle after circle of ripples to form on the magma lake’s surface, Noah dived into the magma and closely followed behind the snake monster.

Everything was fiery red within the magma. However, with the protection from the skull cross artifact, Noah could vaguely see the environment around him. 

His gaze swept once around before he quickly moved his body and closely followed the snake monster that was diving toward the deepest region of the magma.

In the fiery red magma, the undercurrent surged. Occasionally, there would be a ferocious wave of magma undercurrent appearing from an unknown direction. 

These undercurrents contained an extremely large amount of Fire Element particles. If one was hit, even a General Rank would end up being wounded. Noah believed that this was the reason for Queen Medusa's injury.

However, Noah was lucky that the snake monster was extremely familiar with the place. Before the undercurrents arrived, it would be able to find the most suitable route to sneak by. 

Noah, who was closely following behind it, also took the opportunity to successfully avoid these undercurrents from the magma.

In this fiery red world, there did not appear to be any living creature other than the snake monster. This was not surprising. However, Noah did find something weird.

Besides that snake monster which was a strange beast that mutated under the influence of the Heavenly Flame, shouldn't there also be Fire Spirits present here? Such existences usually always live near areas full of Elemental particles, with the exception of Blessed Lands and Grotto-Heavens.

Noah didn't mind this situation though. He did not like Spirits too much, so this situation was fine for him. While Noah was swimming behind, the snake monster still showed no sign of stopping. 

It did not turn its head around to see if Noah had caught up as it swam toward the deep regions of the crypt with vigor.

In this kind of environment where he was deprived of his five senses, Noah had no idea of the actual flow of time. He only knew that after continuing in this machine like manner, his feet were already feeling a little numb.

However, just as Noah began lagging behind, the snake monster swung it's huge tail and twined around Noah’s waist. It's tail was covered by a rich deep red flame. 

Although the flame was repeatedly stopped and rejected by the blood red membrane, the enormous strength that it contained still violently pulled Noah towards it.

“Hmm, what is it?” The moment when he was pulled by the snake monster, Noah's speed drastically increased. Seeing that he didn't need to keep swimming anymore, Noah decided to empty his mind and recover the mana he lost by using the skull cross artifact.

However, his gaze suddenly froze onto a white colored glowing thing a short distance away. The white colored glow covered the magma in this region. 

When Noah completely woke up and looked over, he faintly saw a white yellow colored rose within the white glow that was standing in a gentle and soft manner.

"Is this... The Heavenly Flame?" Noah glanced at this white yellow colored rose.


	88. Chapter 88

Upon seeing the gold yellow and white rose, joy surfaced on Noah's face. Shaking his body, he pulled away from the monster snake as his eyes stared intently at the large rich white light a short distance away.

*Hiss...* Beside him, a sharp sound was emitted from the monster snake. Noah turned around and found that within this huge beast’s eyes, there was a faint fear as it stared at the cluster of white light. It's huge body also shrank and trembled.

[It's scared of the Heavenly Flame? But shouldn't it be attracted to it instead?] Noah found this reaction strange. Turning his attention back to the white rose, he raised his guard in case of a surprise attack.

Like a small fish in a lake, his body swiftly swam toward the region that was covered by the white colored light.

As the distance between his body and the white colored flame decreased, Noah could clearly feel that the temperature around him had suddenly increased.

Closing his somewhat dry lips tightly, Noah took another step. His body finally charged into the region covered by the white colored light.

As his body entered the white colored light, he realized that it was not as hot as he had imagined. Instead, the surrounding temperature had strangely decreased drastically.

Regarding this somewhat strange phenomenon, Noah was a little surprised. A moment later, he finally recovered as his gaze hurriedly swept across his surroundings. Finally, he was looking at the white colored rose at the middle.

The white colored rose had many leaves. These white colored leaves were like the most perfect white diamond that was naturally formed. At a glance, it appeared crystal clear, giving people a desire to hold and not release it.

Within the rose, there seemed to be a small rose platform that was around one to two meters. A small fluorescent light was emitted from some small holes on the rose platform. 

This light appeared to be coming from rose seeds that were formed from the purest Fire Element particles agglomerating together.

On the lower portion of the white colored rose, there was a very narrow and long stem and root. The stem and root were covered with extremely tiny tentacles. 

As these tentacles were swaying around, Noah could clearly feel their greed, unrestrainedly absorbing the surrounding wild Fire Element particles.

This white colored rose was simply suspended in this never ending magma. It was like a duckweed on the vast ocean, wandering everywhere. 

If Noah did not have the snake monster to lead the way, he would not have been able to find this comparatively small white colored rose in this enormous crypt this easily.

Noah pulled out the demonic spellbook and released Niolo outside. "Noah my fri-" As the demon soul looked around at it's surroundings, it became speechless. "Noah, my friend, if you wanted a hot bath, water would've sufficed, you know? No need to- HOLY SHIT!!!"

Upon turning around and seeing the small white colored rose platform, Niolo flew 20 meters away, like a small child running away from a boogeyman. "You found it! You actually found it! I can't believe it actually exists in the material plane!" 

"How do I pick it up?" Noah ignored Niolo's wailing and asked. "Why would I tell you? What if you kill me with it?" "We made a contract, remember?" The demon soul still seemed a little scared, not daring to come close.

"You know, Niolo my friend, the Heavenly Flame isn't the only thing that burns demon souls out of existence..." With an angelic smile, Noah reached out his hand. "Aaaahh! No, not that! Fine, I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" 

"Happy to know that." Niolo shuddered at Noah's smile. [And I'm supposed to be the demon here...] With a sigh, Niolo turned serious. “Be careful. Don’t get caught by those tentacles. Otherwise the mana in your body will be completely absorbed in the blink of an eye.” He said, causing Noah to quickly abandon his thought of going closer to take a look.

“Be careful as you go over. Looking at the shape of the damn thing, it obviously had lived through many millions of years. It should have already agglomerated and formed the Heavenly Flame.” Niolo said with a dreadful expression.

"Yes." At this moment, Noah completely calmed down. He then ever so slowly and gradually swam toward the white colored rose.

As his distance from the white colored rose grew closer, Noah could feel it's beauty. This kind of thing that was so close to perfection could only be created from being honed by unknown natural forces for a long period of time.

Carefully avoiding the swaying tentacles, Noah slowly arrived at a spot above the white rose. His gaze swept through it's interior and his body suddenly stiffened. 

In the middle of the small rose platform within the rose, there was a small hole around the size of a fist. However, at this moment, that hole was empty!

Seeing that empty rose core, Noah’s head immediately became dim. After looking for a few minutes, he turned to Niolo. "It's not here." "What?" Niolo looked surprised. 

He then came a but closer and looked again. "How can this be? Why isn’t it there? From the shape of this white rose, it should have formed the Heavenly Flame long ago."

[Why is it not here? Did I change the timeline? But that's impossible. Wait a second...] “Huh? What is this?” As his gaze swept the lotus platform in detail, Niolo suddenly let out a surprised sound. 

"What is it?" Noah looked at the demon soul. "There! In the hole! Something shiny is there!" Noah reached out with his hand into the hole and pulled out a shiny seven colored snake scale.

“What is this thing?” Tilting his head in a listless manner, Niolo eyed the thing in Noah's hand. He stilled slightly and said in a stunned voice. "A scale?"

The thing in Noah’s hand was about half a palm in size. It's entire body was covered in seven colors. Glancing at it, the luster from the seven colored scale was beautiful and shiny.

“This is… a seven colored snake scale? Looks nice.” Niolo squinted his eyes as he greedily looked at the shiny snake scale. "Sure, take it."

“I was wondering why there isn’t any Heavenly Flame in the rose. It was actually taken by someone else.” Noah threw the purple colored snake scale toward Niolo and fell in thought again. 

“Did the owner of this scale take the Heavenly Flame away?” Niolo said with a happy cheer as he began inspecting the snake scale.

[There is only one person in the entire Tageer Desert who possesses the scales with seven colors. That is the Queen Medusa from the Snake-People Race. Looks like the mysterious disturbance Sarah sensed from a few days ago was indeed that of Queen Medusa’s.] Noah thought to himself.

[Or, at least, she is the one to whom the scale leads. But, why would she do that? As a Snake-Person, she has no affinity with Fire nor Light Element. She can't use it, that's for sure. Or maybe...] Noah's thoughts were interrupted by Niolo's fierce sniffing.

"Wait, this scale... I smell a woman!!" He excitedly announced. "Yes, it does belong to a woman. How did you know?" Upon hearing Noah's question, Niolo's face puffed up in pride.

"Well, I'm glad you asked, Noah my friend. You see, I have sniffed many women's private parts. I am so great that back home I am worshipped as the number 1 female connoisseur!" 

"So you're just a disgusting degenerate." Noah coldly concluded. "No no no, Noah my friend! A connoisseur! I am a connoisseur with an artistic soul! You misunderstood! Anyway, can we go and see that woman now?" 

Seeing Niolo's happy disposition, Noah sighed helplessly and quickly stuffed him into the demonic spellbook. He then turned his attention to the rose platform. "Let's take this as well. I might find some use for it in the future." 

*Swoosh!* Noah fired off a mana slash, cutting off the white rose platform from the roots. After storing the white rose, Noah eyed the roots and stem that were wildly swallowing the surrounding Fire Element particles from within the magma.

"These roots are useless now. In the future, they may actually create a new white rose platform." This was something Noah never wanted to see. With a grasp, he took the roots, and destroyed them.

In the Alchemist world, damaging the root and stems when obtaining a magical object or ingredient is something that would infuriate others the most. After all, the requirement for a magical object to form were far too demanding.

If an Alchemist saw Noah do this he would most likely attack him furiously. After leaving the white glow, Noah waved his hand at the monster snake some distance away. He then followed behind it as they hurried back using the path which they had used before.

“Why is he still not out?” At the mouth of the tunnel, Dylan stared at the magma lake which had been quiet for a long time. His mood, which had just calmed down was gradually becoming anxious again. With his eyebrows pressed together, he began pacing up and down uneasily.

“Company leader, don’t worry. I have received a notice. His Excellency is on his way back. Nothing has happened to him.” By his side, Sarah opened her eyes slightly. The glow in her dark green eyes glittered as she raised her small face watching Dylan pacing up and down.

"If it’s like this..." Hearing this, Dylan let out a sigh of relief. He walked to the tunnel exit, glanced at the hot magma which was repeatedly bubbling and involuntarily let out a laugh. It was difficult for him to imagine that Noah had actually just leaped into it awhile back. “Ugh, what a frightening person…”

*Plop...* Before his sigh was released, the sound of water breaking sounded once again in the crypt. Dylan hurriedly threw his gaze into the magma and found Noah’s figure that was covered by a blood red membrane gradually appearing in his sight.

Breaking through the thick magma surface, Noah let out a long breath. He lifted his head and watched Dylan above before waving his hand. Stepping his foot onto the magma, his body shot up. 

“Are you alright?” Seeing Noah, Dylan hurriedly walked up and inquired. “Haha, I’m fine.” Smiling while shaking his head, Noah turned around and watched the magma world in the enormous crypt.

“Have you got the thing?” Sweeping his gaze across Noah’s expression, Dylan asked with a smile.  
“No…” Noah smiled bitterly. “Someone took it before me.”

“Huh?” Hearing this, Dylan stilled. He mused for a moment and got the general idea. “It is the owner of the mysterious disturbance, isn’t it.”

“Ah, perhaps addressing her as Queen Medusa is more accurate.” Noah smiled back. Dylan then sighed helplessly. "What a shame. I really wanted to see it."

Noah nodded his head. “I have figured out the whereabouts of the Heavenly Flame. After this, I will head directly to the inner regions of the Tageer Desert. If I have the opportunity... I plan to steal the Heavenly Flame from Queen Medusa.”

“What!? You want to steal the Heavenly Flame from Queen Medusa’s hands?!” Hearing this, Dylan was momentarily at a loss before his expression changed drastically and he involuntarily yelled.


	89. Chapter 89

In the regions inside the Tageer Desert, the fierce reputation of Queen Medusa would not lose to her coquettish reputation. Many people in the cities of the Tageer Desert felt a great terror toward Queen Medusa to the point that they trembled upon hearing her name. 

Thus, even if Dylan knew that Noah was quite strong, he still felt that it was absurd when he heard that Noah wanted to provoke Queen Medusa.

After all, Queen Medusa was an extremely strong person renowned throughout the land unlike Berman from the Rock Desert City. 

One time, when the Brabet Kingdom wanted to launch it's soldiers to attack the Snake-People tribe, it had gotten the help of three General Rank Mages but even they were still wounded by Queen Medusa and the expedition was forced to retreat. 

From this, it could be seen that this fierce reputation of Queen Medusa did not come from simple boasts.

“Hehe, relax Dylan. I am only just going to try. If I see that it's hopeless, I obviously won't forfeit my life.” Noah reassured as he smiled at Dylan.

“You… ugh…” Seeing Noah’s persistent manner, Dylan could only shake his head helplessly with a frown. 

“Alright, let’s go back. Today, I’ll go back and rest for one night. Tomorrow, I will have to begin traveling into the inner regions of the Tageer Desert.” Waving his hand, Noah turned around and headed into the tunnel. Behind him, Dylan sighed and followed.

Seeing the two who simply turned around and left, Sarah hurriedly whistled toward the magma lake. Immediately, the green light on the foreheads of the snake monster expanded. 

An instant later, the snake’s huge body shrunk, transformed into a green light and shot into Sarah’s sleeves.

Sarah patted her sleeves curiously with her small hand. A smile surfaced on her small face as she whispered to the snake. “Don’t create any trouble. Otherwise if His Excellency gets angry I will abandon you.”

*Hiss...* The soft hissing sound contained some dissatisfaction, it seemed that the serpent was dissatisfied with its owner’s discrimination.

“Hee hee.” Sarah covered her small mouth and laughed softly. She lifted her small hand and bounced around in a lively manner as she caught up with Noah and Dylan. The three of them gradually disappeared into the dark tunnel.

As the three people’s footsteps slowly faded into the distance, this enormous magma crypt once again entered into an everlasting calmness...

......

After finishing his preparations, Noah slowly walked toward the door, opened it and walked out. The sky outside was slightly dark with only a small corner of the sun having appeared on the distant horizon.

Noah closed the door but before he could take two steps forward, a girl’s timid voice stopped him. “Your Excellency... are you leaving already?”

Noah turned his head around to look at the small figure at the end of the short hall. He slowly walked over and gently rubbed Sarah’s small head with his palm. “Little girl, I still have something very important that I need to do, so I cannot stay here and accompany you.” He said with a gentle smile.

Sarah opened her green charming eyes that were almost as clean and pure as a diamond and stared at the warm smile on Noah’s face. “Will you still come back?” She asked in a shy voice.

“Haha, I will naturally return. Work hard, little girl.” Bending his body, Noah stared at the snake monster that swam out of Sarah’s sleeves. [I still need to make one last experiment with you.]

“Remember my words. Live for yourself. You don’t need to be too concerned about other people’s gazes. If you don’t like them, then choose to ignore them.” He patted the girl's head one last time before getting up.

“Yes.” Sarah forcefully nodded her small head. Her dark green eyes became a little foggy. "Mm, I’m leaving now. Tell the two leaders that I'll surely come back." Noah turned around and headed toward the outside of the compound. 

Right now, Noah's back looked very free and relaxed. Standing on the small path, Sarah watched the free and relaxed back which was gradually disappearing into the darkness. She gently touched the snake monster on her hand and spoke softly. “You must return..."

Contrary to Sarah's opinion, dark thoughts were forming in Noah's mind...

......

In the bright and sunny sky, the huge sun hung high above, much like a huge fireball that was unceasingly emitting flames. The hot sunlight scattered across the golden yellow desert, grilling the tiny sand particles into red-hot small metal pieces.

Due to the high temperature in the desert, threads of hot air rose from the yellow sand, heating the air till it was distorted and became illusory.

In the never ending desert, a black colored human figure suddenly appeared. From his travel worn appeareance, it was clear that he had stayed in the desert for quite some time.

The human figure took somewhat heavy steps as he gradually climbed a tall sand dune. He gazed afar in all directions before taking out a goatskin map from within a storage ring and carefully studying the precise routes on it.

“From the route on the map, we seem to be gradually approaching the inner regions of the Tageer Desert..." Noah's finger traced a route as it slowly moved across the map.

Since Noah left the Rock Desert City, he had been following a route on this map as he walked toward the inner regions of the Tageer Desert. 

Because the desert’s weather was extremely unpredictable, Noah only chose safe time periods for him to move quickly. During the majority of the time, he chose to walk.

Other than the monsters that hid within the sand layer in the Tageer Desert, the thing that people feared the most were the Snake-People in the desert. There were rarely people in the desert who wanted to be enemies with them. 

After all, the snake people’s ability to control poisonous snakes to stealthily attack their enemies was something extremely difficult to defend against.

However, these Snake-People, who were a lot of trouble to ordinary Mages, did not pose any trouble to Noah who had a precise map and the help of his Sovereign Rank mana sense. 

Each time danger approached, Noah would be able to take the initiative to easily avoid the Snake-People Tribe’s patrolling troops.

Noah’s finger pointed at the route he was on and traced it, finally stopping at a red skull that represented danger. There were a total of eight such small red skull on the entire map that were placed on different locations on the map.

Other than a few small tribes, there were a total of eight huge tribes among the Snake-People Race in the Tageer Desert. Those eight red skulls represented the tribes' locations on the map. 

They were the strongest among the Snake-People race and held high positions in the desert. Besides Queen Medusa, they did not acknowledge any other individual as their superior.

The eight enormous groups ruled over different areas of the Tageer Desert. In this portion of the inner regions of the desert, the route that was drawn on the map was blocked by the red skull that Noah was pointing at.

Noah began thinking. In these huge sized tribes, there were usually a few General Rank Snake-People. Thus, wanting to enter without anyone noticing was obviously impossible.

"It looks like I'll have to carefully observe first." Even with the help of the meat jelly artifact, Noah could only try to pose as someone of appropriate strength. Someone of General Rank would easily be able to tell if he was hiding his power, thus posing as an ordinary Snake-Person would get him killed.

"I need to find and kill someone at Officer Rank. Luckily, the 8 Snake-men elders should be in their tribes. It shouldn't be too hard." The sun was beginning to set. Noah made his way to a small oasis in the distance.

Suddenly, Noah felt a strong presence with his mana sense. A presence that shouldn't be in a small oasis like this. "A General Rank Mage?" Noah immediately stopped in his tracks. After verifying that his distance from the Mage is two kilometers, he let out a sigh.

"Why would a General Rank Mage be here?" He looked in detail at the oasis. The first thing he noticed were innumerable little snakes spread all throughout the oasis. Next, on a small path that led to the other side of the oasis, a few Snake-women with fit bodies and cold faces stood still. 

Their sharp gazes continued to sweep through the surrounding woods and they held their weapons tightly in their hands. It appeared that they were prepared to kill anyone who charged in.

Perhaps it was the desert environment but these Snake-People women had very dark skin. Their slightly beautiful appearance accompanied by their uniquely rhombus shaped eyes caused people to feel a strange addiction and their seductive waists were like that of a water snake’s. 

On the continent, whenever a Snake-Woman slave would perform an exotic dance, it was not uncommon to find some of the surrounding men that were watching and had weak mental strength, become erect and have their faces filled with humiliation.

Naturally, Noah was not interested in admiring the beautiful Snake-People women’s addictive snake like waists. When he first glanced at these few Snake-People women, his expression became a little ugly. 

The reason for this was because his mana sense let him realize that among these few female Snake-People, there were actually four peak Officer Ranks. The remaining few were all very strong Paragons.

“I don't understand, why are they clustered here at this time?” Eyeing the Snake-Women with their somewhat strong formation, Noah began searching his mind for any big future incidents in the Tageer Desert that might involve killing or kidnapping some influential figure.

The fact that he didn't find any made him more confused. "What's more, that General Rank..." Within the lake, the back of a lady with a gorgeous figure shot out from the bottom of the lake.

It was a Snake-Woman with such a beautiful figure that any man would fall under a spell, caused by a bright shine of her blonde hair and red eyes. Her lower half had a combination of green and orange scales in the back and white in the front. 

She currently spent her time bathing and swimming within the lake. [I guess I won't be drinking that water...] Just as the Snake-Woman was finishing with her bath, her pretty face changed drastically. She suddenly raised her head and coldly watched the eastern sky of the desert.

Noah's face also warped in shock. With his mana sense, he could sense 7 individuals on a flying mount. What's more, the 6 of those individuals were all General Rank, and the last individual was a peak General Rank!

"What are all these powerhouses doing in this desert?" Noah dug into the sand and moved closer while traveling underground. He had to see what was going on here.


	90. Chapter 90

“Ha ha ha! I told you that there’s presence of the Snake-People here. I wasn’t wrong! Moreover, that snake person looks like someone who has some background.” 

Not long after the crude voice sounded out, a loud and clear roar also sounded. The dot in the distance also gradually became bigger. A moment later, a huge monster that looked somewhat like a dark green dragon gradually appeared in the sky above the desert.

A crude loud laughter was carried by the wind and sounded throughout the desert. *Bang!* The mount in the sky quickly came to a stop. The sharp sound of breaking wind was like thunder that sounded in midair.

"Oh, there really was someone.” The huge monster mount stopped in midair and a gentle laugh sounded from above it. Instantly, seven figures leaped from the back of the mount and gently landed on a sand dune not far away from the oasis.

Watching the seven people who leaped down from the mount, a trace of fear seeped into the Snake-Woman's astonished expression. Her anxious gaze swept over the four grey-robed Mages especially. 

Her figure quickly retreated back tens of meters as she watched the group. She smiled coldly. “What wind has blown over this desert tonight? When have the rarely seen powerhouses start to enjoy forming groups?

“Haha, it is really unexpected that we would be able to meet a strong person at General Rank after just arriving in this vast desert. You should be one of the chiefs from the eight large tribes of the Snake-People, no?” 

Among the Mages, a silver haired middle aged man stepped forward and lightly laughed as he stared at Snake-Woman in the distance.

At the same time, Noah was eavesdropping from under the sand, a little over a 100 meters away in order to stay out of range of the Mages' mana senses. 

[These people are mostly Court Mages from the Brabet Kingdom. And that middle aged man is actually the Medicine King himself. Why would he be here?] Realizing his identity, it was no wonder why the usually arrogant to the skies Court Mages would obey orders of someone weaker than them.

“Who are you? Why have you come to the inner regions of my race’s land in the middle of the night? Don’t you know that humans are forbidden from coming here?” The Snake-Woman wore a thick serious expression. 

Clearly, the terrifying line-up that had suddenly appeared in front of her gave her quite a bit of pressure.

“There is something important for us to visit in the Tageer Desert. Could you lead the way into the inner regions of the desert to see your tribe’s Queen?” The middle aged man smiled and said.

“You want to see Her Majesty?” Hearing this, a beautiful and dangerous angle was formed in Snake-Woman’s pretty eyes. 

“Our Snake-People have been enemies with you humans for many years. Each of our hands are stained with the blood of the other side. What is there to discuss? If the few of you know what is good for you, I urge you to quickly leave. Otherwise, once our 8 tribe leaders gather, the number of strong people in the Brabet Kingdom will shrink drastically.” She replied with a cold smile.

“Medicine King, I told you that you can forget about adopting a diplomatic stance with the Snake-People. They don’t buy this…” An agile and fierce looking large man shouted to the Medicine King.

The voice of the large man was like thunder, reverberating through the air. It was a long while later before it gradually weakened and disappeared.

“I know this woman. She’s the leader of the Veneno Snake Tribe, one of the eight large tribes of the Snake-People. Hee hee. Back then, when the Kingdom started a war with the Snake-People Tribes, that old man Bliksem fought with her and eventually suffered some damage.” The large man’s eyes gazed at the Snake-Woman’s enchanting body as he said with a smile.

“Bliksem? You mean that old man with the Lightning Element during the war back then? I wonder, has the poison in his body been cured?” A cold smile appeared at the corner of Snake-Woman’s mouth as she taunted.

“Thanks to you, the poison has been cured but one of his hands ended up being crippled.” The large man said bluntly. The eyes he used to glance at the Snake-Woman held a cold glint.

“Medicine King, let’s just take action and capture her. Don’t waste any more time. If we arrive late, the thing that you want may well be gone. Moreover, if she were to escape, the difficulty of our mission might end up increasing significantly.” The large man lowered his head and said to the Medicine King.

Hearing this, the Medicine King thought quietly for a while. After a minute, he nodded his head slightly. “Since you don’t wish to cooperate, then don’t blame us for bullying you with our numbers. My friends, I will have to trouble you.” 

When he finished the last sentence, the Medicine King turned his head and spoke to the large man and a somewhat skinny old man.

“No problem. I have long wanted to see just how tenacious the strong people of the Snake-People are.” Hearing the Medicine King’s words, the large man immediately patted his chest and laughed without any hesitation.

The other skinny old man, on the other hand, hesitated a little. It was obvious that he was arrogant of his position and did not want the two of them to attack together. 

However, his hesitation only lasted for a brief moment before it was thrown aside. He was clearly aware that this Snake-Woman would increase the difficulty of the mission that followed.

The bodies of the two men disappeared as they launched themselves at the Snake-Woman. The sudden increase in the speed of their bodies caused the air to unleash an explosive sound.

“Leon Crawei.” Standing on a sand dune, the large man lifted his head and announced his name. This was a small etiquette among the Mages in the upper rankings.

“Vento Russier.” The skinny old man said indifferently. Hearing these two names, the Snake-Woman's heart pounded wildly. "...Haah... So you two are actually the Lion King and Walking Wind, renowned throughout the Brabet Kingdom?” 

Staring at the figures of the large man and the skinny man with a stunned expression, the Snake-Woman inhaled a breath of cool air. “I wondered who had the courage to charge into the inner regions of my tribe. It’s actually two of the Brabet Kingdom's Dukes.” 

The words were mocking as she softly and coldly laughed. The Snake-Woman’s pretty face was becoming increasingly grave. Although she had not fought with these two before, she had heard of their names. 

They were not useless individuals who possessed great fame. These two people naturally had their extraordinary points in order to become part of the Brabet Kingdom's Dukes.

With her strength, she would not be too afraid of fighting with any one of them. However, if she had to fight the two of them alone, that would be a little more difficult. 

Moreover, other than these two, the grey-robed Mages who had been silent were the ones who the Snake-Woman was most afraid of, especially the Mage in the middle. Peak General Rank... that was an extremely strong person that only Her Majesty could match.

[Why have these people suddenly gathered here in the desert? Something terrible must have happened for something unusual like this to occur. Regardless of their motives, I must pass this information to Her Majesty. Otherwise, with their line-up, there is not one among our eight large tribes who could fight them alone.]

This thought flashed quickly in the Snake-Woman’s heart. Without any hesitation or saying any nonsense, her hand swiftly formed a strange seal. At the same time, her snake tail gently patted the sand’s surface. 

Following a soft muffled sound, the calm sand dune suddenly exploded. An enormous sand wave formed in front of the Snake-Woman in the blink of an eye and smashed toward the others from all directions.

Seeing that the Snake-Woman was trying to escape, the two men attacked. A huge golden lion head formed behind Leon, opening it's mouth and roaring as he punched at the Snake-Woman. "Lion's Roar!" 

"As a General of Magic, I command thee, Sylph's Breath." Following Vento's chant, the winds in the desert formed a barrier around the three of them, cutting off the Snake-Woman's escape route.

While the sky was filled with dancing yellow sand, the Snake-Woman’s pretty face was filled with a cold expression. From the middle of her palm, two quiet green energy silks agglomerated into huge green serpents. 

These two huge green serpents were covered with thick scales and their sharp white fangs flashed each time they opened their mouths. The most frightening thing was that these green colored serpents seemed to possess a lifeforce. 

Two faint fierce pressures were released from their bodies. As they strangely pranced and twisted, they managed to barely hold against the two men.

“I have long heard that some of the strong people in the Snake-People race are able to remove the souls of snake type monsters and train them into a unique ability. Upon succeeding in training this ability, one would be able to preserve the monster's original strength."

"These beasts would also be unafraid of death under the control of their owners. It is exceedingly troublesome fighting them. Seeing it for myself today, I must say that the rumors are really true.” Seeing the dancing yellow sand and the energy surging battlefield, the Medicine King sighed. 

“Your Excellency, looks like those two won’t be able to immediately handle it. Do you need us to attack?” A grey-robed Mage respectfully inquired to the man in the middle.

The gray-robed person just shook his head. Seeing the middle Mage’s action, the Mage bowed. He mused for awhile and whispered to himself. “Forget it, with those two's strength, she’s only barely managing to hold out. After a short while, victory will be determined.”

What caught the grey-robed Mage's attention were the Snake-Women that were hiding behind in the oasis. With the middle Mage's permission, a lustful gleam flashed in his eyes as he rushed into the oasis.


	91. Chapter 91

Sweeping his mana sense over the battle that had suddenly calmed down, Noah saw that among the three, the Snake-Woman who had gone a little pale was obviously at a disadvantage. 

Leon and Vento, on the other hand, only had their clothes torn slightly because of their combined efforts. Their expressions were calm and strong. Evidently, they were not badly injured.

“What shameless humans… on my own, I am indeed no match for the two of you. However, if I want to leave this desert, both of you aren’t qualified to stop me!” The Snake-Woman’s supple chest gently rose and fell. 

After briefly measuring the other party’s’ strength, she had totally given up any thoughts of fighting recklessly. She ridiculed with a cold smile and her hands swiftly formed a few seals in front of her.

“Stop her!” Seeing the mana that suddenly surged out from the Snake-Woman's body, Leon frowned and shouted. When he said the words, Vento beside him transformed into a breeze and rushed toward the Snake-Woman in a lightning like manner.

“Snake’s Technique: Split!” Coldly watching the man riding a thread of wind that was headed for her in a lightning like manner, the Snake-Woman’s body trembled. Then, under the shocked gazes of everyone, she suddenly exploded.

During the explosion, there was no blood or flesh spattering. Instead, countless large dark green-colored energy snakes wormed out of the spot where the explosion occurred. When these huge snakes appeared, they began to swiftly fly in all directions.

“What a strange Snake Technique…” Leon randomly waved his hand, unleashing dozens of golden aura blasts and smashing over a hundred huge energy snakes into nothingness. 

As he watched the seemingly never ending number of huge energy snakes, his expression became serious as he commented.

As the huge energy snakes covered the entire place, the few people standing by the side watching, with the exception of the middle gray-robed Mage, also immediately took action. 

In an extremely short time, they destroyed over half of the huge energy snakes. Even with this, however, there were still quite a number which escaped and burrowed into the layers of sand.

“Ugh… attempting to kill a strong Snake-Person in the desert is indeed quite difficult. This kind of fleeing skill is something that’s hard to counter.” Watching the huge energy snakes around which were randomly fleeing, the Medicine King could only helplessly give a smile.

At the same time, an explosion echoed throughout the oasis, and the last remaining grey-robed Mage returned. "Aahhh, what a shame, they all killed themselves when I came close. I can't enjoy a corpse, now can I?" 

Behind the grey-robed Mage there was no oasis left. It was destroyed from the face of the continent. "Alright, that's enough. Let's go." Vento indifferently remarked. "Fiiiiii!" Leon called over the dark green mount, first letting the middle gray-robed Mage and the Medicine King on.

After which, they leaped onto the back of the monster and accompanied by a ferocious dancing wind, swiftly disappeared over the horizon of the desert.

In the endless desert, the night wind blew past and the faint yellow sand pounced over. Some time later, the sand revealed a young man's appeareance. “What an interesting night..." 

With such a group of very strong people arriving, it would be strange if this desert did not become a mess. It was likely that after that Snake-Woman returned, the Snake-People tribes in the desert would become heavily armed and guarded.

Noah lightly sighed to himself. "Hahaha, I'm now convinced it was you. Good job, World Will." He began clapping to seemingly no one. At the same time, Niolo exited the demonic spellbook.

"Noah my friend, what are you doing? What is that World Will you mentioned? Your enemy?" Seeing the demon soul's confused expression, Noah smiled.

"It's not surprising that you don't know. Only twelve people, including me, know what the World Will is. The rest of them are all Sovereigns." Niolo was visibly impressed. "Woow, now I'm just more interested. Tell me, tell me!" 

"World Will is also known as the will of the earth. As living beings have will, the world also has will. Compared to the world, living beings are tiny like ants, lowly like sand, they are basically not worthy of being mentioned in comparison." Noah explained.

"The World Will isn't something alive. You can think of it as a magic tower's genie. It's main purpose is to uphold the rules of balance. Everything in the world has to have balance in order to let the world prosper."

"For example, if a single race tries to unite the continent, the World Will will awaken special heroes whose purpose is to "curb the numbers". For that reason, there were multiple devastating wars throughout the past that resulted in every race almost becoming extinct at one point in time. Some even went extinct, like Terrestrial Elves."

"Hmm, I see." Niolo nodded. "But what happens if the hero dies prematurely?" "The World Will usually favors these individuals until the end of their usefulness, but if the World Will cannot possibly defend the hero, it will simply raise a new one the next time it awakens. But, if you kill all of them, you're fine until the end of an Era. It will then begin anew."

"Although." Noah smiled. "The World Will can at most be awake for three years. It's sleep can last for ten years, so the hero has to stock up on some means of survival for ten years."

Realization dawned on Niolo's face. "Wait, so you mean, the reason why the Heavenly Flame was taken was because it needs to fall into some special person's hands?" Noah nodded in confirmation. "Yes."

"And it's most likely because I was close to taking it for myself. After all, the Heavenly Flame is already considered a mere legend, but the moment I arrive there are already people who know about it's location."

"This also happened before with the inheritance of Great Warlock Cadeus. Suddenly, multiple people knew of the inheritance the moment I heard about it. I guess it did not like me having it too easy."

"Wooww." Niolo spun around in surprise as he digested the new information he got. "So, what now? Isn't it basically hopeless to try to get the Heavenly Flame?" 

"Not exactly. The World Will follows a rule that every person in the world has to have a chance of succeeding in their goals. If they fail, they fail, but if they succeed, then the World Will has to accept it. Thus it has to do something else in the future."

"So, in other words, you're going?" Niolo asked with a bitter face. "Yes. Even if I fail, I still have to see what happens." Noah already moved in the direction of the Queen Medusa's palace.

......

In the vast desert, dozens of fully armed Snake-People carrying poison spears in their hands carefully inspected this small plot of land with sharp eyes. Any living creature that was not of the Snake-People race would be killed without mercy.

The Snake-People in the unit criss-crossed with each other as they patrolled. Traces caused by the swaying of their snake-tails were left behind wherever the squad passed through.

“These damn humans. They actually dared to be arrogant enough to break into the inner regions of the desert. If I capture them, I must let them taste the pain of being bitten by ten thousand snakes!” Under the hot sun, a Snake-Person who appeared to be the leader, wiped off his sweat and swore.

“Squad Leader, what exactly happened? Why has our tribe suddenly entered into a state of martial law?” A Snake-Person impatiently swung his tail, sweeping his gaze across the vast desert, and asked in a confused voice. He was dragged out early in the morning and forced to start searching throughout the entire desert.

Hearing this Snake-Person’s question, the other ten plus Snake-People nearby also shifted their confused gaze at the leader. These Snake-People who were lowly ranked were not clear of what exactly happened.

“Hmm, what happened? There was a group of strong humans who suddenly broke through the defence of the Veneno tribe last night and arrived at the inner regions of the desert. 

According to the information released by the Veneno Tribe, that group appeared to have one weak General Rank, five medium strong Generals and one peak General Rank Mage.” The Snake-Person who was the leader coldly snorted with a somewhat dark expression.

When the surrounding Snake-People heard this, their faces changed quickly. Six General Ranks and one peak? Is the human empire planning on starting another war? 

This kind of frightening line-up was something that none of the huge tribes among the Snake-People race could resist alone.

“Currently, all the tribes of the Snake-People race, regardless of big or small have entered into a period of martial law. And according to the information I received, the leaders of the eight huge tribes have already received Her Majesty’s order and have begun to rush toward the Shrine at the center of the desert."

"The fastest one should be able to arrive by tomorrow night while the slowest would need another day.” When he mentioned Her Majesty, there was the sincerity of a frantic believer on the leader’s face.

“As long as there are three leaders who can hurry to the Shrine, then Her Majesty would give the order to conduct a carpet search. Hmph, so what if they have a peak General Rank? A group of humans who don’t know their limits. As long as the strong people in our Snake-People race are all gathered, we would definitely be able to beat them easily!” 

The Snake-Person leader coldly laughed. He lifted his head, watched this piece of uninhabited desert and shook his head. Waving his hand he signalled to the others. “Go, let’s go somewhere else. There doesn’t seem to be any traces of humans here.”

Following the Snake-Person leader’s cry, this small squad gradually moved further away to conduct their search, leaving behind a huge piece of empty desert.

At the same time, Noah was moving under the sand. Ever so often he would pull out a compass and a map to check where to go. His gaze stared at the middle of the desert where there was a vicious snake head symbol. 

"Hmm, judging by the map, I should be just an hour away." As he was getting closer, Noah burst out of the sand and began to run to the north. After running wildly with all his might for nearly an hour and avoiding dozens of patrol squads, the hot sun in the sky began to gradually set in the west. 

An enormous city finally appeared vaguely on the horizon. As he grew closer to the city, Noah realized that surrounding this majestic city, there were many huge rocks on the yellow desert. Behind these rocks was the Shine City where Queen Medusa stayed.

Noah used Shadow Element magic to hide himself in the shadow of one of the rocks. Feeling like that wasn't enough, he also dug himself into the sand, making a small bunker inside. 

After extending his hand to wipe away his sweat that was mixed with some sand, Noah released his mana sense and observed the situation outside. 

Perhaps it was because they were in a state of a martial law but the huge city’s gates had already been tightly shut. On top of the city’s wall, there were fully armed Snake-People guards who were pacing up and down, patrolling the place. 

In the sky above the city wall, there were over ten huge dark black birds that were also circling the city. Their sharp eyes continued to sweep around the city’s surroundings. Any little movement would cause these beasts to issue a warning cry.

Sweeping his mana sense over the wall, he could sense that this Snake-People city had an overall strength that could give Kingdom capitals a run for their money. 

There were also a few Snake-People, whose clothing appeared a little strange and were mixed among these Snake-People guards. These Snake-People had cold expressions and stood on the city’s wall like a pillar. 

Noah could see that not one Snake-Person dared to step within a radius of ten meters by these people. They were fearful of these strangely dressed Snake-People.

[These people... should be the personal guards of Queen Medusa. Not bad, they're mostly Officer and peak Paragon Rank.] Noah smiled. There were a lot of targets to pose as here. 

[Now, I should just quietly wait here. The Medicine King’s group will be here soon. When that time comes, I'll have to take advantage with the upheaval that occurs to sneak into the city...] Noah sat in a cross legged position and began replenishing his mana.

He also took out all the artifacts he possessed and placed them on himself. A few hours later, Noah's mana sense caught a new presence. Some time later, a a small black dot suddenly appeared on the horizon. 

It created a trail of sand as it raced towards the city like a projectile. Not long after the black dot appeared, the guards on the city wall also took notice. Following the sound of a warning, countless Snake-People lifted their poison spears and prepared to attack it.

When the black figure arrived somewhere around a hundred meters from the city, he immediately stopped. A somewhat dark and cold cry sounded. "Vergif Tribe leader, Tamsus Vergif, greets Her Majesty!” 

Hearing this thunder like shout that sounded throughout the desert, Noah observed him. A leader of one of the eight large tribes had finally arrived.


	92. Chapter 92

In the spacious and luxurious large palace, a beautiful figure appeared a little tired as she gently leaned against the back of her chair. Occasionally, she would lazily sweep her gaze over an empty purple-colored crystal throne on a tall platform and could not resist shaking her head.

The woman lifted her delicate hand to rub her smooth forehead when a sudden joy appeared on her pretty face. She lifted her hand toward the exterior of the palace and saw an ink black-colored figure shoot into the place in a lightning like manner.

"You have finally rushed over..." Seeing the ink black figure enter the palace, the woman involuntarily sighed in relief. “Hera, what exactly happened? The order for Martial Law was sent three times. Are those humans very strong?” 

The figure which entered the large palace was a male Snake-Person. The figure of the man was somewhat sturdy with flimsy clothes randomly placed onto his body. His arms were completely covered with strange looking black-colored tattoos. 

At the point where the tattoos reached his palm, they formed into two savage looking black-colored snake heads. The snake heads were slightly lifted, appearing as though they would break out from his body and leave at any moment which lead to a ferocious force faintly seeped from them.

Glancing at this male Snake-Person who held the same position within their race as she did, Hera gently sighed. She straightened her waist slightly and her well endowed body protruded into forming a seductive outline. 

“Very strong… I met them yesterday night and fled, Ah… I think they should be around the surroundings of the shrine.” She answered lazily.

“Oh? Do you know their exact strength?” Hearing this, the male Snake-Person’s eyes shrunk. He walked into the palace and sat in front of a large table. There was a coldness that could not be hidden in his voice.

“Six General Ranks and one peak.” Hera pursed up her sexy red lips and softly said. “Looks like there seems to be some trouble this time, Tamsus."

"Why have they suddenly gathered so many strong people?” With a serious expression, the male Snake-Person who was addressed as Tamsus thought to himself. “Have you informed Her Majesty? What did she say?”

“I have informed her, but Her Majesty appears very calm. She only asked me to send out the intelligence and call all of you here.” Hera nodded her head as she helplessly said.

“Those people should have a motive for suddenly coming into the desert, right?” Tamsus mused for awhile before saying uncertainly.

“I crossed words with them last night. From their words, it appears that they are looking for Her Majesty…” Hera's delicate fingers played with a thread of yellow hair as she said with interest.

“Looking for Her Majesty?” Hearing this, Tamsus was a little stunned. "Weren’t those strong humans usually the ones most afraid of Her Majesty? Why have they come now?"

“I am also not sure what exactly they want to do… they would rush to hide when hearing about Her Majesty in the past. But now, they are planning to force their way in… have these people’s heads been clipped by the door?” Hera softly ridiculed.

Tamsus pressed his eyebrows tightly together and suddenly stood up. “I want to seek an audience with Her Majesty. I think that we should get a clear picture of the whole matter.”

“Don’t go, Her Majesty is not going to see anyone now. I did not even get to see her earlier. All the orders were delivered by the leader of the Medusa Snake Guard Unit.” Hera skimmed her lips and her weak seemingly boneless pretty body slumped in the chair, much like a lazy beautiful female snake.

“Her Majesty has not appeared? How can this be? This does not appear to be the style she usually has when dealing with problems.” Tamsus knitted his eyebrows tightly together.“I will go and try.”

Seeing Tamsus' disbelief, Hera unconcernedly gave a response. She had just closed her eyes when her pretty face suddenly changed. 

Her body suddenly sat up on the chair. Her long eyes icily looked at the sky outside the palace and her voice became cold. “They are here!”

When Hera sensed the few pressures that had suddenly appeared outside the city, Tamsus also sensed them. Immediately, his expression became serious. 

He exchanged glances with Hera and the two of them instantly left the large palace. A moment later, they arrived at the city wall which had entered into a state of high alert.

At this moment, there was a huge monster mount floating in midair a few hundred meters from the city wall. A few human figures stood on the mount. The frightening pressures they had sensed earlier were emitted from within the bodies of these few people.

The human figures stepped through the air and headed for the city at a relaxed pace. A moment later, they stopped just outside the attacking range of the flying spears.

Eyeing the group of humans who stopped just outside the attack range, two figures on the city wall jumped in front. 

“Humans. Why have you trespassed into our race’s territory without permission? If you do not want to cause a war between the Brabet Kingdom and the Snake-People, I urge all of you to return to where you have come from!” Tamsus spoke in an almost enraged voice.

“This must be Leader Tamsus of the Vergif Snake Tribe.” From within the group of humans in the distant midair, a middle aged man with silver hair slowly walked forward and said with a smile.

“Who are you?” Tamsus swept his angry gaze across the middle aged man as he asked. “Ah, my apologies, I’m the Medicine King!” Ignoring Tamsus’ gaze, the middle aged man smiled and replied politely.

“The Alchemist Guild's Medicine King? Hei, this name is indeed very familiar.” The name 'Medicine King' had caused both Hera and Tamsus to feel surprise. 

Although the Snake-People seldomly officially recognized strong humans, they had to give sufficient importance to Alchemists. This was because they knew very well what kind of gathering ability high ranking Alchemists had.

“Two leaders, we have rudely come to the territory of your race because we have something we would like to discuss with Queen Medusa. Can we request for Her Majesty to appear and talk?” The Medicine King politely smiled.

“Seeing Her Majesty? I’m sorry, we cannot relay this request for you.” Tamsus shook his head and did not hesitate in voicing his rejection. 

He lifted his eyelids and spoke in a bland voice. “Medicine King, you should quickly take your people along and leave as quickly as possible. The people from our Eight Large Tribes are rushing over to the shrine. You should know what kind of hatred some of them have for humans. Thus, when that time comes, it may no longer be possible to leave even if you want to.”

“Ha ha ha, Medicine King, your character is always like this. Why waste your breath on them? Just directly smash the city and see if that woman will appear..." When Leon by the side heard the Snake-Man's words, he could not help but step forward and mock them with a laugh.

“Hmm, I wondered who it was. It's actually the stupid muscle filled brainless lion…” Tamsus sneered as his icy gaze glanced at Leon. From his eyes, it appeared that he was acquainted with the Duke.

“Hey hey, you oily black lousy snake! You don't appear to be any better. Back then, if you had not fled quickly, the Vergif Snake Tribe leader would be someone else now!” Leon opened his mouth and laughed out loud. “I wonder if you have improved after so many years.”

“You can come and try…” A cold glint flashed across Tamsus' sharp eyes as his killing intent surged.

“Alright, Leon, stop arguing with them.” Seeing these two enemies who had become furious upon sight, the Medicine King helplessly shook his head. 

He waved his hand to stop Leon from continuing his provocation. After which, his gaze swept across the city and he let out a gentle sigh. Soon after, he let out a loud shout that rolled over the entire city.

“Queen Medusa, I am the Alchemist Guild's Medicine King. My motive for coming here is not to start a war with your race. I only have something to discuss. Please reveal yourself!”

Seeing his action, Hera's and Tamsus' eyebrows were pressed together. However, they did not say anything to stop it. Under this kind of situation, it would be better if Her Majesty would appear. 

With her strength, their opponents would suffer a terrible ending if they tried to use force. The rolling shout continued to billow through the city and it was a long while later before it gradually ceased.

Following the subsided shout, it was quiet both inside and outside the city. A long while later, there was still no response. The Medicine King frowned slightly when he saw the situation. 

He was planning to shout again when the space on the walls of the city suddenly became strangely distorted.

Seeing this scene, Medicine King’s group was slightly shocked. Other than the silent middle grey-robed person, the others took a small step back and gravely watched the distorted space.

On the city walls, the setting sun’s sunlight spilled downwards, shining on the distorted space. In the next instant, a graceful, sexy and all around lovely body gradually appeared in front of everyone.

The suddenly appearing beautiful woman was wearing a graceful purple-colored gorgeous robe. The pretty figure under the gorgeous robe was voluminous and exquisite, much like a perfect sculpture, with a faint luring sense seeping out. 

Her long crimson hair was randomly scattered from her fragrant shoulders and extended vertically to her delicate and narrow waist. 

Below the gorgeous robe was a purple-colored snake tail. The snake tail swung slightly and a wild enchanting allure caused people to feel that their bodies had become somewhat hot.

Noah’s gaze swept across the nearly perfect pretty figure and finally paused at that beautiful face. Seeing the woman with his own eyes allowed Noah to finally understand why so many people around the Desert would say that Queen Medusa’s renowned beauty was comparable to her renowned ferociousness.

For this kind of woman, one could only use ‘coquettish’ to describe her. However, under that coquettishness, there was a queen like nobleness and gracefulness. 

Compared to her, all the other women appeared faint in comparison. Even Noah had to admit that her beauty was in the top 5 in the world, including the future.

“Your Majesty!” After the bewitching woman appeared, the group of black and pressuring Snake-People on the wall under her immediately knelt. Their respectful voices broke through the clouds.

Eyeing Queen Medusa who had appeared, an intoxicated and hidden admiration appeared in that icy faced Tamsus' eyes.

“She is that Queen Medusa whose fierce reputation has frightened the Lidour and Brabet Kingdoms?” Watching the bewitching and moving purple robed beauty, the middle gray-robed Mage whispered.


	93. Chapter 93

Eyeing Queen Medusa who had appeared on the city walls, the Medicine King and Leon involuntarily took a quiet step closer to the middle gray-robed person. In this place, he was the only one who could match Queen Medusa, whose fierce reputation was feared throughout the continent.

“You are looking for me?” On the walls, Queen Medusa lowered her head and looked at the Medicine King. A delicate and narrow angle was formed as she lifted her red lips. 

In that instant, her exquisite appearance was complemented by a bewitching aura. Her frown and her smile caused the General Ranks around the Medicine King to instantly become absent minded.

Under the smiling gaze of Queen Medusa, the Medicine King took in a gentle breath and suppressed the emotion in his heart. He lifted his head and politely smiled. “Queen Medusa, Your Majesty, I am honored to meet you. I am the Medicine King of the Alchemist Guild.”

“Medicine King. I’ve heard of you. An Alchemist like you is really extraordinary. You actually even managed to request the help of a peak General Rank.” Queen Medusa's eyes swept across the mysterious grey-robed person at one side as she said with a smile.

“Tell me, why are you here to look for me? Although your forceful entrance into the territory of my race is extremely rude, our Snake-People race is not a race that is unreasonable.” Watching the Alchemist who appeared to quietly sigh in relief, a cunning glint flashed across Queen Medusa’s limpid eyes. 

“Moreover, the Medicine King’s reputation as an Alchemist is renowned throughout the continent. When the time comes, you can randomly pledge something to repay these little losses. Am I right, Medicine King?”

“Uh…” The smile on the Medicine King's face was a little embarrassed. However, he was also someone who had a wide experience. 

He immediately had the magnanimity to be a sucker, proudly waving his head and smilingly replying. “It is indeed rude of us to forcefully enter into the territory of your race. These losses would be compensated by me.”

“Ho ho, the Medicine King is really open-minded.” Queen Medusa touched her red lips and softly laughed. She blinked her long eyelashes and said with a soft laugh. “Now then, why don’t you tell us the reason for you to invite so many friends and spend so much effort to arrive at the territory of our Snake-People race.”

Hearing that the conversation was gradually moving into the main subject, a seriousness surfaced on Medicine King’s face. He was quiet for a moment as he considered his words. 

The laughing manner of Queen Medusa in front of him may have caused her to appear to be harmless, but he was extremely clear that this bewitching beautiful woman had turned three General Ranks into meat pies that filled the sky when the Snake-People and the Brabet Kingdom were at war back then. 

Her vicious means were enough to chill those people who frequently licked the blood off their blades. Moreover, he also knew that Queen Medusa’s strength was among the top of those at the General Rank. If not for the Brabet Kingdom having to suffer great losses to bring in a Magistrate Rank Mage, the war might have gone differently.

Even though he had the middle grey-robed person whom he invited by his side, Medicine King clearly understood that he did not invite him to fight with Queen Medusa. 

He was the only one who could block Queen Medusa if the latter had any killing intent and able to prevent the people around him from being killed by Queen Medusa.

The Medicine King let out his breath slowly and raised his head. He eyed Queen Medusa in the air and said in a low voice. “The purpose of my travelling here is the Heavenly Flame that Your Majesty obtained!”

His deep voice gradually reverberated through the sky, causing the originally calm surroundings to suddenly become much quieter.

"As expected, he's also persuaded by the World Will." In his sand bunker, Noah observed the situation with his mana sense. "I wonder, when are they going to realize that this Queen Medusa is just an illusion..."

“Heavenly Flame? Isn't that just an empty legend?” Hearing the Medicine King's words, The faces of Tamsus and Hera were stunned. Clearly, they did not know about Queen Medusa obtaining the Heavenly Flame from outside of Rock Desert City half a month ago.

“For what purpose would Queen Medusa obtain the Heavenly Flame?” Hera was at a loss as she blinked her eyes. 

A moment later, she appeared to have remembered something. Her expression changed drastically as she suddenly turned around and exchanged a glance with Tamsus. She spoke in a soft shocked voice. “Don’t tell me it’s…”

“Should be. Otherwise Queen Medusa would not search for this Heavenly Flame. Besides planning to do that thing, there should not be any other intention.” Tamsus softly said after taking in a gentle breath.

“But… goddess. The chances of failure of that thing are extremely high! Once any accident happens to Her Majesty, then our Snake-People race…” Hera’s hands waved randomly in front of her as she said with a worried expression.

“Ugh… Her Majesty has been at the peak of General Rank for many years. Perhaps she’s feeling a little impatient. Although she usually appears to be not too concerned about these things, I know very well that she wants to become stronger. Once she becomes a Magistrate Rank, the strength of our Snake-People race would also swiftly increase. No longer will we be considered weaklings by the other Monster Race tribes."

"Also, we would not need to be trapped in this never ending desert. We may have adapted to it over so many years but this isn’t the place for us Snake-People. Our blood is cold after all.” Tamsus sighed to himself.

Hera also gently sighed. She raised her head and shifted her eyes toward Queen Medusa on the walls whose smile on her pretty face was gradually transforming into one of indifference.

“Heavenly Flame? How did you obtain news of me obtaining a Heavenly Flame?” Queen Medusa’s delicate finger smoothed over the fallen crimson hair in front of her forehead. Her slightly purple-colored pretty eyes flashed with a little iciness.

“Half a month ago, I was also in the desert searching for a medicinal ingredient and coincidentally sensed the presence of the Heavenly Flame. Although I did not discover Your Majesty’s figure, I picked up a few pieces of seven-colored snake scales with blood on them…" Medicine King smiled.

"Seven-colored snake scales are strange scales that would only appear on Your Majesty’s body when you use your full strength to fight. On those snake scales, I also sensed the scent of a Heavenly Flame. I’m guessing that Your Majesty was hurt by the Heavenly Flame when you took it away.”

[So that's the background the World Will chose for him, huh?] Noah listened in his bunker, a little impressed at the extent of it's power over people. If they weren't under control, no one would believe Medicine King's words. After all, he's known as a shut-in.

Queen Medusa gently licked her moist red lips. Her pair of strange pupils with a faint coldness lingering in it was intently focused on the Medicine King.

Seemingly sensing the ill intention in Queen Medusa’s eyes, the Medicine King carefully retreated behind the black-robed person. 

“Your Majesty, I do not have any other intention. I think Your Majesty should be extremely clear of how such a flame can be useful to an Alchemist. The blood of the Snake-People is cold. The Heavenly Flame does not bring you much benefit. Therefore, I hope that Your Majesty would allow me to use other things to exchange for the Heavenly Flame in your hands.”

“Exchange?” Hearing this, Queen Medusa lifted the corner of her eyes in mockery. “Since you are an Alchemist, you should be more clear of the strength of a Heavenly Flame compared to me. You tell me, what kind of things do you need to take out in order to match the value of it?”

Medicine King frowned slightly and mused for awhile. A rare painful expression appeared on his face. He then raised his head and said in a deep voice. 

“I am willing to brew five High Grade potions of your choice and a Superior Grade 'Body Transformation Potion' to exchange for the Heavenly Flame! What does Your Majesty think?”

When Medicine King's words left his mouth, the surrounding people widened their eyes and looked at him with stunned faces. 

Even the middle grey-robed Mage beside him also turned his head over and a dumbfounded gaze shot out from under it. It was clear that even he did not expect that Medicine King would be so generous because of the Heavenly Flame.

The choice of brewing five High Grade potions was incredibly tempting. It pretty much meant that the Medicine King would work for you anytime you want, and you can choose what kind of potion you want to get for free.

However, compared to that, the Superior Grade ‘Body Transformation Potion’ was something that caused others to feel shocked. This potion was sufficient to cause countless General Rank Monster Race powerhouses to go wild over it. 

This was because as long as they had this potion, they would be able to entirely break away from their beast body and from then on possess the lifespan of a Monster Race and the training talent of a human. 

The beast that had the superposition of these two special abilities may well have the potential to become a legendary Ruler Rank!

"What a load of bullshit." Noah sighed to himself. "Medicine King is not someone who can brew High Grade potions perfectly right now. And as for that Superior Grade potion, looks like he's going to need to beg someone in the Alchemist Guild to do it for him."

Contrary to his name, the Medicine King is not a supreme Alchemist who stands at the top. Such a lofty position belongs to Superior Grade Alchemists like Old Man Solomon from Cold Wind Fortress.

Only in the future did Medicine King become so good to be able to brew High Grade potions with no risk of failure. But even then, he never touched the Superior Grade as he was assassinated some time later.

Noah then looked at Hera and Tamsus. Clearly, these two people were also shocked at the price Medicine King announced. Their stunned expressions were quite interesting.

Noah's gaze gradually shifted to Queen Medusa in the sky. A thick smile spread across his face.

The people present, including the Medicine King, turned their anxious gaze onto the silent Queen Medusa, waiting for her to speak.

In the sky, Queen Medusa was quiet for a long time while being stared at by a countless number of gazes. She finally sighed softly, pursed up her sexy red lips and looked at Medicine King with pretty eyes that carried some regret. 

Using a helpless voice, she said. “I have to admit that your terms are extremely attractive, but... I’m sorry, I will not exchange with you!”


	94. Chapter 94

Hearing Queen Medusa’s words which implied rejection, many people were stunned. Although the strength of a Heavenly Flame was extremely great, it should not have much of an appeal to the Snake-People race. 

After all, this kind of wild and extremely destructive Heavenly Flame was like water to fire for their icy blood.

Thus, when they heard Queen Medusa using a somewhat regretful tone to reject the offer, Medicine King, as well as Leon, Vento and the others beside him had completely stunned faces.

“Has this woman’s mind spoiled… what’s the point in keeping something that does not have much benefit to her? Was it not better to exchange it for something that would be useful to her and create a win-win scenario?” Leon helplessly shook his head and mumbled in puzzlement.

Beside him, Vento also shook his head. His face was filled with incomprehension. Compared to their shock, Hera and Tamsus on the city wall were much calmer. From the rejection of Queen Medusa, they had clearly understood what exactly she was planning to do.

“Ugh, as expected. Her Majesty really looks like she wants to do that. Otherwise, it would have been unlikely for her to reject this kind of trade.” Hera sighed gently and whispered.

Temsus nodded his head heavily. There was a worry and bitterness on his eagle like face. “Tsk tsk, Queen Medusa lives up to her name. She could reject such good terms with such decisiveness.” 

One of the grey-robed Mages raised his head, eyed the bewitching beauty and involuntarily licked his lips. Queen Medusa’s rejection caused Medicine King to still for a moment. 

A few seconds later, he quickly withdrew the stunned expression on his face. He frowned and looked at Queen Medusa in the distance. “Your Majesty, your rejection is really beyond my expectation. I don’t like to be secretive so the terms just now were the most precious things that I could offer. Originally I thought that they could move Your Majesty. Unfortunately... It seems that I have miscalculated.”

“Medicine King, your terms have got me very interested, but because of some reasons, the Heavenly Flame is extremely important to me now.” The regret on Queen Medusa’s pretty face was quite difficult to hide. 

Evidently, she was not completely indifferent to the items that he had mentioned. The Medicine King sighed. The expression on his face was somewhat listless. 

He clearly understood that if Queen Medusa was unwilling to hand over the Heavenly Flame, the strength of the few of them would not be able to force her hand.

“Can you tell me why you want to keep the Heavenly Flame?” He laughed bitterly. “I’m sorry. No.” Queen Medusa shook her head and waved her hand lazily. 

“Forget it. Medicine King, go back to where you came from. As for that compensation, forget it. It’s fine as long as you leave here quickly. The leaders of the Eight Large Tribes of the Snake-People race are already rushing here. Thus, you should leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, there may be some unnecessary trouble when they appear.”

Hearing Queen Medusa’s words, Medicine King smiled bitterly and sighed. He turned his head to face his few companions with a helpless face.

“Medicine King, are we just going to leave like that?” Leon glanced at Queen Medusa in the distance and said with a frown.

“What can we do if we don’t leave? It’s not like you don’t know Queen Medusa’s strength. Do you think it is possible for us to forcefully take it?” Medicine King sighed and said. 

To be honest, he naturally did not want to leave empty handed. However, the opponent’s strength was too great. Moreover, this was the territory of the enemy. If they were to use force, the ending might not be too pleasant.

Hearing his words, Leon and Vento became slightly sluggish. With their strength, they naturally could not challenge Queen Medusa. Their gaze immediately shifted toward the middle gray-robed person by the side. “What is His Excellency's opinion?”

Seeing Leon’s and Vento’s action, the rest of the grey-robed Mages also turned their gazes toward the middle gray-robed person, waiting for him to speak.

The gray-robed person was quiet. He did not immediately answer Leon’s question. Since he did not speak, everyone could only quietly wait. Queen Medusa and the others opposite also shifted their gazes to the gray-robed person.

The gray-robed person was the focus of everyone’s attention. A long while later, he moved slightly. His human figure slowly took a step forward and the grey robe was slightly raised, revealing a short black beard. 

His faint cool voice was briskly emitted. “I have once haphazardly read some information about the Queen of the Snake-People from an ancient book. It said that once the Queen Medusa reaches the peak of General Rank, she can undergo a strange evolution if she has sufficiently good luck."

What he said caught Noah's attention. [Looks like the World Will is forced to intervene.] "The Queen Medusa which has undergone the evolution would not only be able to transform into a human body but her strength would also be promoted into that of a Magistrate Rank." 

"However, the chances of such evolution succeeding are extremely low. Moreover… the most essential thing needed for this evolution is an item of incredible amount of Elemental particles, enough to use as a core of a Blessed Land."

"I think that the reason why Queen Medusa was not willing to hand over the Heavenly Flame is because she is planning on undergoing this evolution that requires the help of such an item, in this case the Heavenly Flame." A malevolent smile appeared on the Mage's face.

[Indeed. With the World Will suppressing the Monster Race, they don't even have Ruler Ranks in their forces. The most they have are Magistrate Ranks, and even they are few in number. She has no choice, really.] Noah guessed what was going on.

Hearing the words the gray-robed person said, there was an obvious change to Queen Medusa’s expression. Her captivating eyes stared intently at the grey-robed person with a cold aura hovering over her. “I did not expect that you knew about such things. It really surprises me.” 

“Not only do I know that you need a Heavenly Flame to complete your evolution, but I also know that… The current you is merely an illusion that possesses the thoughts of Queen Medusa. I think that the real Queen Medusa should be at some place preparing to evolve.” The grey-robed person said in a faint voice.

As the grey-robed person said those words, everyone from both sides were shocked. Hera and Tamsus' faces changed drastically. They glanced at each other and saw a worried feeling in the each other’s eyes.

“Your Excellency, you mean that she's not here?” Leon pointed at Queen Medusa far away and said with a stunned voice. From his senses, he did not find anything inappropriate.

“Yes.” The grey-robed person nodded his head. He lifted his foot and stepped downwards. His body instantly disappeared, leaving behind an explosion of sand.

At the moment when the black-robed person disappeared, the pretty face of Queen Medusa far away changed. She was about to move when a dark grey figure appeared in an instant behind her. 

A burly muscly hand was extended out and landed on Queen Medusa's back in a seemingly slow yet fast manner. 

“Such insolence!” Seeing that grey-robed person who attacked in a flash, Hera and Tamsus' face suddenly changed. They swiftly pounced toward the grey-robed person.

“Hehe, the both of you better not randomly interfere.” Two figures flashed across. In the middle of the jump, Leon and Vento blocked the two of them. The originally tense atmosphere immediately transformed into an aggressive one.

Ignoring the actions of those around, the grey-robed person leaned his body forward and eyed Queen Medusa whose body was stiff. “Am I right, Your Majesty?” 

“You really live up to being a Court Mage by being able to discover my illusion so quickly.” Queen Medusa’s narrow and long pupils shrunk as she softly laughed. Her manner of leisure did not show any panic at being caught.

“I think that Your Majesty’s real body cannot be disturbed now, no? Otherwise, you would not allow us to act so presumptuously. Ah… quite a good opportunity... To kill you." The grey-robed person smiled, releasing his killing intent.

His palm suddenly shook and an aura attack was unleashed from his body, heavily striking Queen Medusa’s back. Following a muffled sound, the bewitching and moving Queen Medusa on the wall immediately turned into pale purple smoke that slowly rose and disappeared.

“They have finally begun fighting…” Watching that grey-robed person on the wall who did not hesitate in attacking, Noah stood up. It was time to begin.


	95. Chapter 95

The moment the grey-robed person destroyed the illusion of Queen Medusa, fury rose up onto the faces of Hera and Tamsus at the same time. The latter suddenly turned his head around and roared toward the countless guards on the city wall. “Kill these humans!”

Hearing his order, a deafening acknowledgement sounded angrily from the city wall. Countless Snake-People tightly gripped the poison spears in their hands, hurriedly taking two steps backwards and abruptly charging forward. 

The poison spears were released from their hands and instantly, a black pressuring rain of poison spears shot toward the grey-robed person nearby and Medicine King’s group. The sharp whistling sound caused the people’s ears to ring.

The gray-robed person did not move his body as he watched the gigantic poison spear rain in the sky with an indifferent manner. He waved his sleeves gently. 

Immediately, a thin transparent membrane formed a bubble around him. The rain of spears hit the thin shield, but all of them broke upon contact.

The pair of eyes under the black robe stared at the unceasing waves of poison spear rain that were shot over, allowing the shield to block them. Turning his body around, he faced the Medicine King’s group. 

“Charge in. Queen Medusa is likely at a crucial moment. At this time, she is extremely weak. If you want to obtain the Heavenly Flame, this is your only chance.”

Hearing this, Medicine King knit his eyebrows together. After musing for a while, he nodded with a serious face. He was not an indecisive person. 

When it was time to make a decision, he would not let an opportunity pass because of some stupid question of morality and justice.

“Leon, Vento, attack. The both of you help block Tamsus and Hera. I will enter the city to search for the Heavenly Flame!” The Medicine King’s hand waved as he said in a grave voice.

“Hahaha, since you put it this way, let’s do something big. Anyway, you are the wealthy person. The more serious the injury, the greater the reward!” Leon opened his mouth and laughed loudly.

Hearing this, Medicine King smiled wryly as he shook his head. He took out a small white artifact that looked like a cloud and dropped it on the ground. 

The cloud began growing in size as he poured mana into it. His feet stepped on the cloud and his body lead the way quickly toward the interior of the city.

“Stop him!” Seeing the Medicine King’s action, Hera and Tamsus quickly rushed over to the top of the city wall. Their faces were filled with a dark and cold expression as they blocked him.

“Haha, your opponents are us!” A ferocious explosive aura viciously smashed toward Hera and Tamsus. The two of them swiftly avoided the attack from the aura. Leon and Vento then swiftly appeared in front of Hera and Tamsus, laughing as they blocked them.

“Medusa Guards, stop him no matter the cost!” Seeing that Medicine King was directly charging into the city, Hera’s face became alarmed. She turned her head around and with a chill in her voice she shouted orders to the guards on the city wall.

“Yes!” Orderly icy voices responded with a cry. Immediately, over ten glowing figures used the height of the city wall to quickly fall into place to block Medicine King in a lightning like manner.

“Kill him!” The ten plus snake-people who were dressed in a strange manner stared intently at Medicine King with dark and icy gazes that were like a poisonous snake. 

Following their cold cry, the ten plus people quickly moved their bodies in unison. Waves after waves of poisonous and aura attacks flew at the moving Medicine King.

The Medicine King eyed the ten plus Snake-People’s attack indifferently. With just a rough glance, he was able to clearly distinguish their strengths. Just a bunch of Officers who didn't know when to back off. 

With a light snort, he put up a shield around himself. The attacks hit the shield to no avail, but the Snake-People didn't stop attacking. Their aim was to stop him, and they were more than ready to throw their lives away.

"Crimson Javelin." With a short chant, a spear made of fire shot directly toward the ten plus Snake-People. The combined opposition from the ten plus Snake-People was destroyed under the Crimson Javelin.

The Medicine King's cloud passed through the defence of the ten plus Snake-People at a terrifying pace. He swung his hand, and a blue mana slash cut up the Snake-People into pieces.

He used the fastest speed to defeat the people blocking his way. He was about to charge into the city when a ferocious aura, that caused his expression to change slightly, suddenly shot violently from below him. 

He immediately flapped his wings and hurriedly pulled back, narrowly avoiding an aura attack that was aimed at him. “Medusa Snake Guards Commander!” A lady with a graceful and beautiful body jumped into the sky and coldly shouted.

“Another General Rank... Haah... There are really quite a number of strong people from the Snake-People race.” Seeing the lady that had appeared in front of him, Medicine King roughly sensed her strength and immediately sighed helplessly in his heart.

The lady in front of him did not appear to have any intention of chatting with the Medicine King. She held a sharp snake spear with one hand while swaying her snake tail at him in the air. 

She carried an unparalleled ferocious force as she charged at the Medicine King, intending to kill. However, just as he prepared to move his body and fight, the gray-robed person suddenly flashed in front of him. 

“Hand her to me. Go and find the Heavenly Flame. We don’t have much more time. Once Queen Medusa successfully evolves, I think at that point our only option will be to run as far as we can.”

“Yes.” The Medicine King hurriedly nodded as he eyed the grey-robed person who appeared in front of him. After his warning, he entered into the city in a lightning like manner under the Snake-Woman’s furious gaze.

When the city wall was in a total mess, no one noticed a figure quietly sneaking in from outside the city wall. After getting rid of a few Snake-People whom he occasionally met along the way, he took on their appeareance and rushed into this enormous city. 

[Queen Medusa is really cunning. I don’t know what illusion arts she used but she split the presence of the Heavenly Flame into four portions. The locations of the four presences are placed at four corners of the city. If I wasn't immune to illusions, I also wouldn't know where to go.]

"Looks like Medicine King is going in the wrong direction." Noah was rather glad that the Medicine King went to the North. He couldn't take on a person like that now.

Noah ran East, in the direction of a shrine. After carefully moving throughout the city, an enormous shrine gradually appeared in his sight. There was tough security all around.

Using his Shadow Element magic, he slipped into a corridor unseen, then ran with all his might toward the inner corridors on the right.

With Noah's mana sense, he was able to avoid the patrols each and every time he met them. After this kind of alarming and dangerous running had persisted for around ten minutes, Noah’s sight suddenly became open and clear. A small transparent lake appeared in his eyes.

In the middle of the lake there was a small island. The surrounding water waves sparkled without any signs of a bridge to the island.

Standing by the side of the lake, Noah glanced at the transparent lake water where one could see the bottom. "A corrosive poison, a magic formation that forces everything downwards and vicious poisonous monsters. Not bad." 

Noah didn't try to go into the poisoned water. Even if he used his Shadow Armor, the armor would get destroyed quickly by the constant onslaught of the poison and numerous monsters inside.

Instead, he released his mana sense and looked around for the catalysts of the magic formation. "There." Under the ground, there were numerous small magic circles that formed the shape of a snake.

*Swoosh! swoosh! swoosh!* After using mana slashes to dig up the ground, Noah carefully inspected the revealed part of this complex formation. After several minutes, he understood the way the formation worked.

*Crack!* After destroying a few specific magic circles, the magic formation quietly disappeared. [Queen Medusa is quite thorough in her preparations. She even made the formation linked to an alarm outside. If I randomly destroyed this formation, it's likely everyone would know about it.]

Now that the formation was gone, Noah used the full power of his body to jump to the island in the middle. An explosion of dirt was left behind as he flew through the air.

*Baam!* With a loud bang, Noah's feet created a crater on the ground he landed on. He turned around and looked over the island. The island was not very large. A lush forest and some plants were growing all over it, giving it a beautiful appearance of thriving with life.

Releasing his mana sense, Noah confirmed that Queen Medusa didn't notice him. The atmosphere was quiet as Noah walked along a small path in the forest. Other than the extremely soft sound of his footsteps landing on the grass and leaves, there were no other sounds.

With normal paced footsteps, Noah passed through the end of a couple of small paths. His vision was also gradually becoming more open and clear. The instant when he passed through a small path, he suddenly bent down and quickly hid within some bushes. 

His sight passed through the cover by the leaves and eyed the open place at the middle of the small island. This place was a round open area. All the trees and bushes around it were completely removed while extremely small smooth pebbles were scattered within it. 

These pebbles were depressed to form a small pond with crystal clear liquid water. The surface of the liquid water was shrouded by a white fog. Even over a significant distance, Noah was still able to feel the extremely cold temperature it possessed.

"Ice Spring Liquid. That's rather rare. Queen Medusa is quite rich to be able to afford an entire pond of it..." Noah gradually shifted his gaze and finally stopped on a rose seat carved out using a strange crystal located at the middle of the pond. At this moment, a cluster of white-colored flames was slowly soaring on the rose seat.


	96. Chapter 96

“I have finally found you..." Noah stared intently at that cluster of white-colored flame. He had never seen the Heavenly Flame before, and seeing it now he understood why Niolo was so scared of it.

The white gold colored flame exuded a solemn and sacred feeling. Just being in it's presence made one feel as though they were standing in front of something divine. If the Church of Light ever found it, they would definitely believe it to be something that belonged to the Goddess Arumenia. 

The crystal rose platform was evidently not an ordinary thing. Each time the white-colored flame was about to swim out of the boundary of the rose seat, a round pale white-colored glow would suddenly appear. After which, it would catapult the Heavenly Flame back.

Noah’s gaze scanned the pond in detail and realised that each time after the Heavenly Flame and the glow came into contact, the Ice Spring Liquid in the pond would diminish by a tiny amount that could not be detected. 

The crystal rose seat borrowed the strength of the Ice Spring Liquid in order to trap the white-colored flame within it.

After sweeping his gaze across the small pond, Noah looked to the left. A face which was beautiful to the point of bewitching was imprinted into his eyes. 

There was not the slightest difference between the current Queen Medusa and the illusion that had previously appeared on the city walls. A luxurious and expensive purple-colored gorgeous gown was wrapped around her graceful and lovely body. 

Her voluminous and exquisite figure released an enchanting temptation. She had a pair of long and narrow golden pupils. When her bewitching gaze roamed, it spread an addiction that seemingly sucked almost every man’s eyes to her.

Below the purple-colored gorgeous gown, a purple-colored snake tail was revealed. It lazily swayed around, releasing a wild and peculiar loveliness.

The current Queen Medusa’s beautiful eyes were staring intently at the white-colored flame in the middle of the pond. Under the reflection of the light, a fire was flashing in the golden eyes.

After quietly staring at this white-colored flame for a long time, Queen Medusa suddenly let out a gentle sigh. She raised her head and looked at the sky. Immediately, she swung her snake’s tail and her body slowly stood up.

“It is time…” After mumbling softly, a rare hesitation flashed across Queen Medusa bewitching face. An instant later, the hesitation turned into determination. 

Two snow white wrists were revealed from under the purple-colored gown and her delicate hands slowly formed a few seals in front of her body.

Following the change in the seal formed by Queen Medusa’s hand, the crystal rose seat suddenly trembled intensely. The light curtains above it gradually disappeared. 

After the light curtains disappeared, the white-colored flame which had lost it's restraints abruptly charged out and grew with the wind. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a torrent of intense flames.

Under this cluster of intense flame, the Ice Spirit Liquid began evaporating at a rate that was visible to the naked eye.

Ignoring the trees around her that were grilled to the point that they were quickly withering, Queen Medusa bit her lip with her teeth. 

Her hands slowly undid the buttons of her gown. Instantly, a perfect female’s body that appeared to be the masterpiece of creation was exposed within the forest.

Her snow-white, perfect, voluptuous body was releasing a temptation that could turn the mouths of others dry. The beautiful appearance inadvertently let out a bewitchment that was much like an alluring demon. 

Her long white neck revealed a graceful angle and when one’s gaze shifted lower, a standing, bountiful chest that was perfectly round, tender and busty appeared. 

Perhaps it was because of the high temperature but a drop of a crystal water droplet appeared around her neck and began to roll down. It artfully drew across her chest and finally formed a somewhat obscene angle as it dripped down.

Her narrow waist seamed to be too small for a full embrace. However, a flexible feeling seeped out of its meager size. The flat and delicate lower abdomen did not have the slightest bit of excess flesh. 

With just a glance, it caused people to possess the impulse of extending their hands to roam around it. Under the narrow waist, there was a purple color snake tail that was filled with wildness. The snake tail swayed slightly.

Within the small forest, this lovely body which many men had salivated over was exposed in such a naked manner, allowing someone to feast over it.

"Ooooohhhh...." "Niolo, shut up or she'll kill us." Amidst the bushes, Noah and Niolo stared at the naked, sexy body that many men would go crazy over. “This woman… isn’t she far too scary? Noah my friend, if I had a body now, I would jump that woman this instant!” Niolo feasted his eyes, not missing a single second of this treat. 

“Queen Medusa has an inborn bewitching ability, just like all Snake-Women. Of course, with her current strength, that bewitching ability has already reached the stage where she can fully control it. But when she is naked, that kind of bewitchment would also be released. Also, quit drooling. You're my only way of escape if she finds me, so be clearheaded."

Niolo stared at Noah's annoyed expression, and he couldn't help but wonder to himself how does this Mage not feel absolutely any attraction to a beautiful woman. [Wait, could it be... He swings 'The forbidden way'?!]

Noah ignored Niolo's troubled expression. His gaze was entirely focused on the empty space a short distance away. Allowing the purple-colored gown to slide to the ground, Queen Medusa slowly took a step forward. 

Her beautiful eyes were blurry as they stared at the cluster of white-colored flame. “If I were to follow the normal step by step method to train, I don’t know when I will be able to touch the bottleneck to Magistrate Rank. This is the only path for me to quickly be promoted.” She said with a little uncertainty.

Her delicate and narrow hands gently nestled onto her shoulders. She bent her waist slightly toward the Heavenly Flame in midair. She then slowly raised her head and watched the intense ripples occurring at the city wall. 

A cold glint flashed in her beautiful eyes. Her delicate fingers pulled aside the crimson hair on her forehead. “If I successfully evolve, all the humans here today will stay in the desert forever!” 

After saying these words filled with bloodlust, Queen Medusa randomly pulled down the ribbon restricting her crimson hair. Instantly, her hair showered downwards and gathered at her waist.

She gently swung her head and the hair swayed carelessly. This random action increased her enchanting loveliness.

Queen Medusa folded her hands together and closed her eyes. Her hands repeatedly changed between strange seals. Following the change in the seals, the energy ripples in the forest suddenly became much more intense.

Hiding within the bushes, Noah recognized this change and was immediately shocked. His body arched slightly, preparing to handle different kinds of sudden situations that could occur anytime.

“What is she trying to do?” The ripples within the forest grew increasingly intense. Finally, it actually formed a huge energy vortex in the space above the sky. Seeing this change, Niolo said in an amazed voice.

"She's trying to forcibly breakthrough to Magistrate Rank by the means of evolution. I have only heard about it; I’ve never seen it, but it seems that the path for the evolution is not very precise. In other words, even if she succeeds, what she would evolve to no one will know. But I presume it will be something related to snakes." Noah focused his gaze on Queen Medusa who was covered by a rich glow.

The glow continued to expand and contract. A moment later, a roar that was somewhat like a lion’s and somewhat like a tiger’s was loudly emitted from the glow. Not long after this roar was emitted, the eye-piercing glow suddenly swelled.

Under this eye-piercing strong beam of light, Noah closed his eyes in instinct. A moment later, he once again opened them only to have his face filled with surprise as he realized that there was a huge purple-colored snake over a hundred meters long suspended in the air above the small island.

The huge purple-colored snake’s body was long and strong. It also had a faintly elegant and aesthetic feeling. 

The huge purple-colored snake slowly turned it's body around in midair. It's enormous head turned slightly toward the chaotic city wall. At this moment, a cold glint flashed across it's pale purple eyes.

At the side of the city wall, the grey-robed Mage looked on. He indifferently glanced at the Snake-Woman opposite him, who was in a terrible state. An instant later, it appeared as if he sensed something and suddenly turned his head around. 

His gaze stared intently at the other corner of the city where the sky was filled with a purple light. The eyes under the black robe narrowed as he muttered. “Is the evolution going to begin?”

“You damn humans. Once Her Majesty succeeds in evolving, none of you will be able to escape!” The Snake-Woman coldly said as she tried her best to get off the ground.

“If the evolution were to fail, we won’t need to do anything. She would naturally disappear from this world.” The threat from the Snake-Woman did not cause the grey-robed person to feel any anger. 

“And you know very well that this kind of evolution has no rules or methods. Even if she finally succeeds… no one knows just what kind of appearance she will evolve into.” The grey-robed Mage replied.

“Her Majesty will definitely succeed!” The Snake-Woman’s expression changed as she angrily cried with a tough exterior, but hidden behind that wall was a worried heart. 

“Well, at the very least, you won't be there to see it.” The grey-robed Mage smiled menacingly before lifting his foot and stomping on the Snake-Woman's head. With a crunching sound, their short battle was over.


	97. Chapter 97

“This is Queen Medusa’s original body?” Niolo could not help but let out an involuntary cry as he gazed at the enormous purple snake in the sky with amazement.

“The Snake-People race and humans are different. Not long after they are born, a secret technique is used to input the soul of a snake type monster into their body. As they grow older, this kind of soul will gradually merge with theirs and they will eventually become one entity. After merging with a monster soul, they will be able to summon forth an original form like this." Noah explained.

"Why, are you repulsed by her appearance now?" Niolo gave Noah a thoughtful expression. "As long as it has a hole, it shouldn't be a problem... Yea, I'd still fuck her!" Noah shot him a disgusted glance and continued looking.

The enormous body lingered in midair. A rich purple-colored glow surged from it's purple body and finally encompassed the entire shrine within it.

“She is setting up an magic formation. I think she is afraid of being disturbed by the Medicine King and others. Looks like this kind of evolution must have a quiet environment."

Once done, the enormous purple snake circled a few times in the sky before it suddenly let out a clear soft cry. After which, it charged toward the cluster of soaring white-colored flame without any hesitation.

Seeing the purple snake’s action, Noah hurriedly pulled back. Under Noah’s focused gaze, the enormous purple snake opened it's mouth, intending to swallow it.

"Hmm, it seems as though she wants to fuse with the Heavenly Flame..." Niolo looked over in shock. "What?! She's crazy if she thinks that'll work! The Heavenly Flame is too powerful!" 

"Let's wait and see. Will the World Will's plan succeed, or will Queen Medusa defy the will of the world itself." Noah replied with an interested smile.

The moment the purple snake swallowed the Heavenly Flame, Queen Medusa unleashed loud shrills that would have numbed the skin of people’s heads. Suddenly, the Heavenly Flame devoured the purple snake and began burning it!

Hearing the piercing shrill that Queen Medusa let out from within the Heavenly Flame, Noah’s body gave a violent cold shudder. His gaze passed through the cover of the leaves and looked at the cluster of white-colored flame in midair. 

Within it, the enormous purple snake was wildly thrashing it's huge body about. With the places that were visible to Noah’s eyes, he could clearly see that the snake scales on the purple snake’s body began to quickly become distorted not long after they were devoured by the Heavenly Flame. 

Finally, they were charred black by the Heavenly Flame before falling weakly from the purple snake’s body. After the snake scales fell from it's body, bright red fresh blood began to gush out. 

However, the instant after the fresh blood appeared, it was incinerated into nothingness by the Heavenly Flame’s frightening temperature. Finally, the body of the purple snake had new lines of frightening blood-colored scars.

Standing on the small island. Noah could even hear the sound that was emitted from the Heavenly Flame. Due to the fresh blood swiftly being lost, the enormous purple snake body was also shrinking at a rate that the naked eye could easily see.

For a haughty and strong queen to be made to let out these wild piercing shrills, it was difficult to imagine the kind of intense pain that the current Queen Medusa was enduring. 

Under the incineration of the Heavenly Flame, the pain she was feeling was not merely the pain on the surface of the body. Even her soul would not be able to escape being incinerated. That kind of pain was something really terrifying.

Standing on top of a distant rock, Noah and Niolo stared intently at the cluster of flame. The piercing shrill of Queen Medusa which caused one’s heart to tremble gave him a small sense of disappointment. [Looks like the World Will is stronger.]

The movement caused by Queen Medusa was really too big, with the piercing shrill appearing to have sounded through over half the city. Instantly, countless Snake-People rushed up to the roof and watched the region where the purple light was extremely rich with aghast expressions. 

There were some who wanted to rush over but were blocked outside by the fierce and tough purple light. They could only stand outside and anxiously watch the huge purple snake intensely withered within the white-colored flame from a far distance.

In the sky, a light figure swiftly headed toward this purple glow. A moment later, it stopped outside the purple light, revealing a serious faced Medicine King.

“Has Queen Medusa started to evolve?” The Medicine King watched the distant white-colored flame shining brightly with great focus. Without realizing it, his palms held each other as he laughed bitterly. “Have we no other choice but to sit here and wait for the result?”

“That… Noah my friend, what do we do now?” Turning his head and seeing the surrounding people that had come over after being alerted, Niolo frowned. He then watched the cluster of white-colored flame that seemed to have distorted the air.

Noah's gaze swept under the white-colored flame. He found that the small pond that was originally filled with Ice Spring Liquid had already become a black empty hole. 

At a rough glance, the empty hole was at least over ten meters deep. Moreover, the surrounding trees around the Heavenly Flame were instantaneously turning into ashes. As the wind blew passed, the large forest was transformed into a flat plain.

“What an excellent destructive power…” Noah wiped the sweat from his face. He felt that the surrounding air was becoming increasingly hot. 

Within the white-colored flame, Queen Medusa’s piercing shrills continued for nearly half an hour before they gradually became weaker. At this moment, the purple snake’s enormous body seemed to have stopped thrashing about because it's energy had been exhausted. 

It's body, which was originally covered by beautiful purple-colored scales, was now charred black and it shrunk to the size of twenty to thirty meters from over a hundred meters long. It was difficult to imagine just how much bone, flesh and blood had been incinerated within that flame.

Outside the purple-colored light curtain, an increasing number of Snake-People stood on the roofs blankly staring at the writhing Purple Snake. 

The deary screams of the Purple Snake sounded throughout the entire city, spreading a desolate atmosphere that covered the sacred city of the Snake-People.

Inside the white-colored flame, Queen Medusa's body laid quiet and still, allowing the Heavenly Flame to continue burning her body. A faint charred smell was slowly emitted.

“Did she fail?” Outside the purple-colored curtain, the grey-robed person suddenly appeared by Medicine King’s side. Eyeing Queen Medusa who had ceased moving within the Heavenly Flame, he let out a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha, looks like our Brabet Kingdom's shame can now be buried. Truly a good day." “Haah…” Eyeing the white-colored flame, the Medicine King beside him also sighed gently. 

This Queen Medusa who had once been a headache to the strong within the Brabet Kingdom had fallen in such a manner. It was somewhat like a drama.

Following the disappearance of Queen Medusa’s loud screeches, the entire city gradually fell into a deathlike silence. A moment later, numerous pairs of hateful gazes shifted toward the Medicine King and the grey-robed Mage.

Ignoring those hateful gazes, the grey-robed person stared indifferently at the cluster of white-colored flame in the distant. A moment later, the eyebrows under the grey robe slightly knit together. 

Raising his head, he watched the sky which had suddenly become much darker. After being quiet for awhile, his cool voice was a little more serious. “There’s something wrong.”

“What is it?” Hearing this, the Medicine King’s expression tightened and he hurriedly asked. “The natural energy here has suddenly surged.” The grey-robed person looked into the sky and quietly said.

Seeing the situation, the Medicine King also hurriedly lifted his head and watched the sky. His expression instantly changed. The originally bright and clear sky had suddenly become much darker. A cluster of dark clouds of unknown origin had slowly covered the sky.

The sudden change had also caused everyone to be stunned as they stared at the situation in the sky. Their faces were filled with confusion.

*Craacaboom!* A roar of thunder was suddenly emitted from the dark clouds. Silver flashes of lightning transversed jumpily throughout the sky, much like numerous long, silver-colored snakes.

“What is happening?” Feeling the wild energy contained within the dark clouds, the Medicine King swallowed his saliva and asked dryly.

The grey-robed person stared intently at the dark clouds in the sky. “I have once read an ancient book that when a legendary Monster Race member from ancient times was born or when their strength is promoted, they would cause some natural phenomenon. However, these legendary classes of Monsters are all extremely powerful existences."

"The top among them could even be compared to the human’s Dukes or Court Mages. In the current Era, such legendary classes of Monsters that exist are very rarely seen… Looking at the situation, the greatest possibility may be that this is caused by Queen Medusa.”

“You mean that… she has successfully evolved?” The Medicine King’s eyes shrunk as he as he asked with a startled voice. “I’m not certain.” The grey-robed person shook his head and quietly said.

“Do we need to withdraw?” The Medicine King pressed his eyebrows together and asked with hesitation evident in his voice.

“Let’s wait first. Even if she managed to successfully evolve, she would have lost quite a bit of energy after being incinerated in the Heavenly Flame for such a long time. In such a situation, finding a quiet place to recuperate would be the wisest choice for her.” The grey-robed person shook his head.

“This… alright. Let’s wait and see.” Hearing the opinion, the Medicine King hesitated for a moment before nodding his head. He was about to raise it when a loud roar sounded from the clouds above his head. 

In an instant, the sky brightened as an enormous silver-colored thunderbolt shot down from the clouds, passing through the purple-colored light curtain and smashing into the cluster of white-colored flame.

The thunderbolt appeared and disappeared quickly. Before the roar of the thunderbolt disappeared from the ears of everyone, the dark clouds in the sky began to quickly disappear. An instant later, the hot sunlight once again covered the entire city.

The aftershock of the roar gradually disappeared from everyone’s ears. Countless people hurriedly threw their gazes toward the purple-colored light curtain. However, after the thunderbolt struck, a faint white-colored fog began to permeate from the small island, effectively blocking everyone’s sight.

“The white-colored fog is something that was released when the thunderbolt from before struck against the Heavenly Flame, I'm sure of it. Whatever is happening inside has been completely isolated.” After sweeping his mana sense inside the light curtain, Medicine King shook his head.

“Wait for it to scatter.” The gray-robed person said calmly. The Medicine King nodded his head. However, he pulled out his cloud artifact, preparing to retreat anytime.

When the thunderbolt from the sky struck, Noah chose to hide behind an enormous rock. Even though he did this, the enormous impact of the thunderbolt still shook the enormous rock into powder. 

“What a frightening thunderbolt…” Niolo stared at the small island which was already empty. He could not resist inhaling a mouthful of cool air. “What happened inside?” 

Noah patted off the dust on his body and watched the dense white-colored fog around him. He frowned slightly and slowly walked toward the center. "The World Will dislikes the Monster Race, so it acted by itself to give Queen Medusa one last trial."

Lowering his gaze, he found a totally charred black huge serpent lying on the ground quietly without the slightest sound. It's body was no different from a dead snake.

“Has she failed?” Eyeing the severely shrunken large snake whose exterior had been incinerated to the point of being somewhat terrifying, Niolo inhaled gently. [In my past life, I never heard of Queen Medusa breaking through to Magistrate Rank, so there is a big chance she died.]

"The Heavenly Flame is gone. My trip was a failure." Contrary to his words, Noah didn't feel too bad about it. He couldn't always expect things to be going well for him. Failure was a natural thing, and getting angry at it was pointless.

Suddenly, Noah heard a soft "crack" noise behind him. Hearing this sudden noise, Noah quickly turned around and faced the source of the sound. Immediately, his eyes shrunk in complete bewilderment.


	98. Chapter 98

Under Noah’s observation, the charred black skin of the stiff, huge snake corpse suddenly began shedding slowly. The shedding speed gradually increased and finally, Noah could roughly see that there seemed to be something in the huge snake corpse that was about to break through the body.

Watching this strange scene, Noah was stupefied. His gaze stared intently at the enormous snake which was repeatedly shedding it's charred black skin. He immediately hid among the debris, using Shadow Element magic as well. 

"There's life coming from the snake body?" Noah’s voice at the moment was serious. “She succeeded in evolving?” Niolo’s eyes shrunk as he asked dryly.

“...Seems like it. Be alarmed. Protect me if necessary.” Noah's mind was now working at full speed. The event from today was shocking to say the least. It definitely differed from his past life.

As Noah was thinking, the huge snake corpse on the ground suddenly emitted an explosive sound. The black scales flew in all directions and the corpse instantly turned into powder.

At that instant, when the huge snake corpse turned into powder, a vast and frightening presence was suddenly released and swiftly covered the entire city at a speed that caused others to feel dismay.

“Her Majesty has succeeded?” Sensing the faintly familiar feel of this presence, countless Snake-People in the city faced each other. Instantly, their faces were filled with unrestrained joy as an earth shaking cheer sounded throughout the clouds.

The instant when this vast presence erupted, the expression of the Medicine King, who was outside the purple-colored curtain, changed drastically. At the same time, his body involuntarily and quickly retreated over dozens of meters.

As his figure was hurriedly pulling back, the Medicine King wore an ugly expression as he shouted to the grey-robed person who was quietly observing by the side. “Let’s leave quickly. Queen Medusa had successfully evolved!”

“Don’t panic!” Facing the sudden surge of energy from the terrifying presence, the grey-robed person still remained calm. Other people may have difficulty sensing the irregularity within it but he could clearly sense it. 

This presence may be so strong that it was frightening but it had a faint feeling of lacking the strength to persist. His senses were not incorrect. 

After this presence had erupted, it only lasted for over ten seconds before it shrunk back into the light curtain like a tide retreating from the beach.

Following the presence being extinguished once again, the cheers in the city also suddenly stopped. All of the Snake-People had stunned faces and their hearts were anxiously waiting for the result of the new development.

When that presence suddenly erupted, Noah’s face paled significantly. His feet stepped on the ground and in the blink of an eye, pulled back for over ten meters. The extinguishment of the presence also caused Noah to be a little confused. 

However, he did not dare to take things lightly at the moment. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he stared at the region a distance away that had some black-colored dust caused by the snake body exploding. His palms were covered with sweat.

The black-colored dust gradually showered downwards. In an instant, a seven-colored light abruptly shot out from the fog. The speed of the light was so quick that one could not react, much like it had penetrated the resistance of the space.

In Noah’s eyes, the seven-colored glow flashed. His face was startled. Before he had a clear idea of what the thing was he did not dare to have any skin contact with it.

Even though Noah wanted to dodge, the speed of the seven-colored light was so fast that it was frightening. [It's indeed a Magistrate Rank creature, such speed belongs only to them.] 

Noah resorted to pulling out the beast teeth necklace and skull cross artifact and activating them at the same time. A blood red shield wrapped around him, followed by the various beast illusions.

Suddenly, that seven-colored light which had hurriedly shot toward Noah did not advance any further. It suddenly stopped it's body in front of him. 

The change from extreme speed to extreme silence was done in an almost completely natural manner without the slightest feeling of distortion.

The seven-colored light stopped a meter in front of Noah and finally revealed it's body to his sight. When he saw the living creature that appeared in front of him, his alarmed expression was involuntarily turned into a stunned and dull expression.

The living creature that had appeared in front of Noah was a narrow small snake that was only around forty centimeters long. It's body was covered with tiny seven-colored scales and it's pale purple eyes had a faint bewitching feeling. 

A unique fresh scent was shrouded around it's body. Although it was currently only a snake, both elegance and nobility seeped out from it.

The small snake did not appear to be vicious looking but it was beautiful to a ridiculous extent. This kind of beautiful living creature may well cause many ladies to forget about their fear and disgust for snakes.

The entire body of the seven-colored small snake did not have many sharp attacking spots. However, Noah could vaguely sense a terrifying strength, that can only belong to a Magistrate Rank Mage, within it's small body.

The small snake was suspended in midair in front of Noah. It's pale purple-colored pupils did not have the slightest killing aura. Instead, it appeared extremely pure and clean. 

Although Noah clearly knew that this small snake may have been transformed from Queen Medusa whose vicious reputation had frightened the Brabet and Lidour Kingdoms surrounding the desert, it seemed very hard to connect the two of them together.

The seven-colored small snake swayed it's tiny tail, widened it's purple-colored pupils and watched Noah who was in front of it. 

It tried to get slightly closer to Noah but was also frightened by the beast illusions surrounding him. Immediately, it hurriedly shrank back, curling up it's body. The pale purple eyes actually carried an extremely pitiful look as the snake eyed Noah.

With a stiffened body, Noah stared at the seven-colored small snake in front of him that appeared totally harmless. He did not dare make the slightest move. 

"Noah my friend... Is that her? She actually evolved?" Niolo also stood by the side, stupefied by how someone could possibly absorb something from Heaven. “Yes…” Noah said as he nodded his head. 

“It's body is seven-colored, it's eyes are slightly purple, it's strength is at Magistrate Rank... How unexpected. The so called evolution of Queen Medusa is actually evolving her spirit, abandoning the original shell and using her mental strength to agglomerate into a genuine and new body.”

Noah marveled to himself. "How amazing. She succeeded in something only Ruler Ranks and Sovereigns can succeed in. She actually transfered her soul to another body." 

"Then... Why isn't she attacking?" Staring at the baby like curiosity within the small snake’s pupils, Niolo asked, feeling at a loss for words. “Perhaps... when it was evolving, it became stupid after being struck by the lightning?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. It could be a myriad of reasons, after all, transferring your soul from one body to another can only be successfully done by Ruler Ranks and above. If someone of a lower Rank tries... The consequences can be rather horrible."

"Hm, Noah my friend, since it doesn't have any killing intent, why don't you remove your defense?" Noah lightly sighed. "Well it's not like it makes any difference anyway." Removing the shield and beast illusions, Noah looked at the snake in front of him.

He then kneeled down in front of it and spoke in a solemn voice. "Your Excellency, this lowly Mage congratulates you on your breakthrough." This was proper etiquette when someone broke through, so Noah wanted to see if the snake would react.

The small snake did not make the slightest response to Noah's appeareance. It simply blinked it's quartz like pupils, swayed it's snake tail and gradually swam over to Noah while suspended in the air.

The seven-colored snake circled around Noah twice but did not display any intentions of ill will. After swaying it's tail and whirling around Noah one more time, the seven-colored small snake suddenly stopped in the space above Noah’s hand. 

It's crystal clear eyes carried some yearning as it stared intently at Noah's hand. It then raised it's head and emitted a few soft hisses toward him. The gentle sound was as though it was behaving like a spoiled child.

Seeing the seven-colored small snake’s action, Noah began thinking to himself. “Don’t tell me that the soul transfer really destroyed it's old memories?” Niolo was also very confused with regards to this.

Considering that Noah didn't do anything, the small snake then opened it's mouth, and bit his hand! "Hm?!" Noah prepared to defend himself, but he soon relaxed once he saw that the small snake didn't poison him.

Instead, the seven-colored snake began licking the blood that was flowing out. "It eats blood?" Suddenly, Noah felt a feeling of loosing something. His face immediately became alarmed. 

[It's absorbing the mana from my soul orb!] The mana in his soul orb was rapidly drying up. However, Noah had no choice but to let the snake continue it's feeding. If he attacked it now, maybe he'll just make things worse.

As the little snake continued absorbing Noah's mana, the amount in his soul orb fell down more and more. In the end, the snake only stopped after reducing Noah's mana to 45%.

After taking a few more licks, it pulled it's head away. It's crystal clear snake pupils danced with excitement and satisfaction.

It seemed that since the snake had absorbed his mana, there was less caution within the eyes of the small seven-colored snake as they looked at Noah.

It twisted it's small head and lazily rubbed itself on Noah's hand. Eyeing the action of the small snake that did not have the slightest enmity, an unusual glint in his eyes suddenly grew.

"What a monster. If it wasn't me, any normal Mage might even experience a drop in Rank. Luckily, this much mana is nothing, I can recover it quickly." Noah wasn't worried about the loss of his mana.

Unlike normal Mages, Noah does not train to increase the mana in his soul orb. With the help of his meditation technique, he can absorb mana more efficiently than any training. 

For that reason, even if Noah falls in Rank to a Paragon, it won't be hard for him to jump back up. "It's so cute." Niolo chimed in. "Can we keep it?" "Do you want to die?" Noah shot him an annoyed glance.

"I'm not crazy enough to do that. Even if she's not aggressive now, Queen Medusa might still regain her lost memories. And when that happens, we both die." 

"But what if she doesn’t regain her memories? The current her is just like a small beast which has just been born. You are also the first person she saw. Regardless of what happens, I think that she should not have too much enmity toward you. Otherwise, she wouldn’t stay by your side looking for food the moment she appeared." Niolo replied.

"This is an extremely good opportunity… An exotic beast that will be able to contend with Magistrate Ranks in the future. That is a fatal attraction, Noah my friend." Niolo continued persuading, even showing Noah puppy eyes.

"Forget it. It's too risky. I'll just leave it here to it's fate." Noah retracted his hand and once again bowed to the small seven-colored snake. "Your Highness, I hope that your meal was to your tastes. Please excuse this meagre peasant." 

The seven-colored snake merely yawned while Noah was talking, and once he turned around, it coiled it's tail around Noah’s wrist and then it slid into his sleeves before gradually entering into a deep sleep.

"What?" Seeing this, Noah was at a loss for words. "Hahaha, looks like it wants to come along! Nice, Noah my friend!" Ignoring the demon soul by his side, Noah grabbed the seven-colored snake and tried pulling it off his hand.

However, no matter how hard he tried, the snake tail was like a vice. She didn't let go off his hand at all. Even using his entire strength, the snake didn't budge an inch.

"Shit, the fog is falling. Niolo, get in the demonic spellbook. We're leaving here." "Great! Now we have a pet! I have to come up with a name for it!" Noah sighed as he stuffed the demon soul inside the demonic spellbook, before approaching the purple barrier.

"The weakpoint is... Here." After fiddling about for a minute, Noah found a small weakpoint in the barrier, allowing him to open a hole to leave. Releasing his mana sense, he verified that there was no one in the immediate vicinity to him. His body sunk into the shadows of the city, unnoticed by anyone.


	99. Chapter 99

“What happened?” The Medicine King, who had retreated some distance back, uneasily returned to the side of the grey-robed Mage after the frightening presence disappeared.

“Something must have gone wrong during the evolution. That presence completely disappeared.” The grey-robed Mage shook his head.

“Did she fail?” Hearing the grey-robed person’s words, the Medicine King, stilled and with both regret and secret delight, sighed immediately. 

His gaze stared intently at the shrine where the white-colored fog was gradually disappearing. He suddenly frowned. “The presence of the Heavenly Flame… why has it disappeared?”

“The energy ripple inside has already calmed down. As for the Heavenly Flame, has it been destroyed by Queen Medusa?” The grey-robed Mage replied in a somewhat hesitant manner.

“I guess we just have to wait until the fog scatters before we conduct a thorough search.” The Medicine King knit his eyebrows together and helplessly said.

“Medicine King, how is it?” Two people rushed in from outside the city wall and finally stopped beside the Medicine King and the grey-robed person. 

Their gazes swept over the shrine below them. “What about the presence from just now?” Leon asked in a deep voice.

“It should be Queen Medusa’s presence. Although it appears that a slight problem occurred with the evolution. Perhaps... she has already completely vanished.” The Medicine King voiced his thoughts.

“Haah...“ Hearing this, Leon and Vento both let out a long breath. The frightening presence from before had resulted in them not having the slightest fighting spirit in their heart. 

Strong people of that Rank were already a level that they could not touch let alone even consider fighting with.

What do we do now?” Vento's gaze swept across the city. There were countless number of stares that were filled with hatred thrown at them. He raised his head and watched the city walls in the distance. 

Hera and Tamsus were coldly glaring at them. However, the occasional gaze they threw toward the shrine carried some anxiety.

While Hera and Tamsus were filled with killing intent, they did not forcefully charge over. Under their lead, countless number of strong Snake-People carried snake spears and rushed to the roof tops. 

They coldly focused their eyes on the few people close to the purple barrier. Leon, Vento and the Medicine King weren't considered threats for them. However, the remaining Court Mages who stood close by were the real problem.

What's more, if they weren’t afraid of the grey-robed Mage going crazy and causing large numbers of deaths, they would have attacked the Medicine King’s group a long time ago.

Thus, the current Hera and the other Snake-People did not forcefully attack. She merely ordered the strong people to gradually surround the group. It appeared that they seemed to be planning to hold them back within the city.

“They are waiting for the other leaders of the remaining tribes to arrive. Once all of the leaders of the eight large tribes are gathered, we will be at a disadvantage even though we have His Excellency here. This is their territory after all." Leon said gravely as he swept his gaze toward the densely packed strong Snake-People on the roofs. 

Although his character was a little rough, he was not stupid. After thinking a little, he knew the other side’s intention.

The Medicine King nodded his head. He naturally knew the intention of the other side but he had yet to obtain the most important thing. If they simply left like this, he would really feel dissatisfied in his heart. 

“Let’s wait first. The purple-colored barrier is about to disappear. After it disappears, we will immediately enter into the vicinity of it and conduct a quick search. If we discover the Heavenly Flame, we will leave immediately. If we cannot find it… then let’s also leave.”

Seeing Medicine King’s persistence and the lack of any objections from the grey-robed person by his side, Leon and Vento exchanged a glance before nodding their heads.

When he noticed that these two people did not intend to object, the Medicine King sighed gently. He turned his head and glanced at the furious Hera and Tamsus in the distance before staring intently at the light curtain which had began to become indistinct. 

The atmosphere in the enormous city was somewhat quiet. Everyone’s eyes were focused on the purple-colored light curtain which was about to collapse. Their emotions were like tightly wound springs, not daring to even relax a little.

The purple-colored light curtain that had covered a large space gradually became illusionary. After this kind of quiet atmosphere persisted for a few minutes, the grey-robed person suddenly turned around. 

His eyes stared at the western horizon. “Another strong Snake-Person had arrived. From his pressure, it appears to be one of the tribe leaders of the eight large tribes.”

Hearing his words, the Medicine King’s expression changed slightly. He turned his head around and found a red-colored figure rushing toward the city in a lightning like manner. 

After around a minute, a male Snake-Person whose body was entirely covered in red-colored tattoos appeared in the city in a flash. His gaze swept through the surroundings and finally landed on the Medicine King’s group with a dark face.

“Damn humans. You actually dared to enter our race’s sacred city!” The person who arrived appeared to have an explosive temper. When he saw the group, his furious roar immediately sounded throughout the city. 

“This guy is the leader of the Vlam Snake Tribe of the eight large tribes, Othe. Although his temper is very bad, his strength is among the strongest of the eight tribe leaders.” Vento frowned as he watched the Snake-Person who had suddenly appeared.

Hearing this, the Medicine King pressed his eyebrows together. His gaze swept to the other side. “Counting it out, they already have three General Ranks. But luckily, the commander of the Medusa Snake Guards died.”

“The light covering is about to break.” The grey-robed Mage stared at the purple colored light covering in front of him as he said. This light covering was the magic formation that Queen Medusa had used all her might to release after transforming into a snake body. 

Thus, even with his peak General Rank strength, he had difficulty breaking it from the outside. The only choice was to wait for it to disappear by itself.

Hearing the grey-robed Mage's words, the Medicine King’s expression tightened. He could not be bothered about Othe who was staring daggers at him. Instead, he quickly turned around and focused on the increasingly translucent purple-colored light curtain.

On the other side, Hera's and Tamsus' faces revealed their happiness at seeing Othe suddenly arrive. They hurriedly moved their bodies and appeared by the latter’s side. After which, they broke into whispers as they related all that happened in the city to him in detail.

Othe's face was filled with anger as he listened to Hera and Tamsus' words. He tightened his fist and numerous green veins pulsed on his thick strong arms. His eyes were blood red as he stared at the Medicine King’s group. 

The low roar of his was suppressing an uncomparable wildness and killing intent. “A group of human bastards. I must use your fresh blood to wash off today’s humiliation.”

The Medicine King’s group chose to ignore the Othe who was so wild with anger that he wanted to bite someone. Their gazes stared intently at the light curtain. 

In a clear moment, the purple-colored glow brightened slightly and instantly cracked, filling the sky with tiny energy pieces which showered down on the ground.

The instant the purple-colored light curtain broke, the Medicine King’s group simultaneously rushed down in a lightning like manner. They charged into shrine where the white-colored fog had yet to completely disperse.

Following the action of the group, countless Snake-People released furious roars. Numerous figures leaped and appeared on the roofs before charging into the shine from all directions. The cries for Her Majesty sounded throughout the city.

At this moment, the sacred city of the Snake-People had basically turned into complete chaos. Relying on his memory from before, the group swiftly entered the shrine and appeared in the sky above the small island. 

Thanks to Noah's meddling, the gravitational formation was destroyed. Therefore, the Medicine King’s group did not need to fear the poison pool as they jumped to the center of the small island.

After their feet touched down on the ground, the gazes and mana senses of everyone in Medicine King’s group swept in all directions. However, they did not discover the slightest trace of the Heavenly Flame or Queen Medusa.

The eyes under the grey robe swept across the surroundings. The grey-robed person suddenly squatted down and picked up a piece of a charred black scale. “Was she really incinerated by the Heavenly Flame until nothing remained?"

“Dammit. Where’s the Heavenly Flame?” The Medicine King’s mana sense searched the small island but was still unable to discover any presence of the Heavenly Flame. Fury immediately surfaced on his calm face.

One of the grey-robed Mages stood up and waved his sleeves. Following a short chant, an intense wind suddenly surged out from his hands. The surrounding white-colored fog was also completely lifted. Instantly, their sight swiftly became clear.

As the white-colored fog scattered, the totally empty small island completely revealed itself to everyone’s eyes. When they looked at some of the smooth deep holes, everyone could imagine just what kind of damage this place had experienced.

“There’s no Heavenly Flame!” Leon said gravely as his gaze swept across the empty small island. At the same time, Vento shot numerous wind attacks in all directions, cutting up the Snake-People who were crazily pouncing toward the small island into pieces. 

He turned his head around and urged. “Let’s quickly leave. If we do not go now, we might not make it! According to my senses, there is another strong Snake-Person who is rushing over!”

Hearing this, the Medicine King clenched his teeth. A moment later, he sighed and said with a face filled with unwillingness. “We're leaving!”

The grey-robed Mage waved his hand, and the other Court Mages immediately hurried by his side, forming a circle around the Medicine King.

Just like that, they stormed out of the small island, breaking a hole through the Snake-People. "Where do you think you're going?!" Othe crazily shouted as he threw himself at the group.

The group didn't feel worried at all about the attacking Snake-Man. The grey-robed Mage enhanced his arm with mana and punched the Snake-Man away with relative ease. "Someone with your level of strength has no right to get in our way. Scram."

Othe broke through many buildings before stopping. "Human bastard! This means war! Don't think that Brabet Kingdom will get out of this unscathed!" Following Othe, Tamsus also attacked the group out of rage, only to end up in the same way.

"Another Snake leader is close by. We need a distraction." A grey-robed Mage next to the middle one showed a smile full of bloodlust. "Please leave it to me, Your Excellency." 

"Fire Rain!" With a short chant, the clouds above the city changed to an ashen grey color, and from the clouds, fire balls began to fall down on the city.

Explosions and fire enveloped the city of Snake-People. Many Snake-People were killed in the explosions or were burned to cinders by the spreading fire, forcing the Snake leaders to focus on protecting the populace.

"Hmm, how strange, the Monster Race really care about the ordinary mortals. I get surprised every time I see it." The grey-robed Mage commented. "Brabet Kingdom trash! You'll all die by our hands!" 

An elderly looking Snake-Man appeared from the other side. "Water Vortex!" Following his chant, a huge vortex made of water engulfed the places on fire, alongside sucking up the falling fire balls and preventing further damage.

"We'll see about that, Snake-Man." With the final sentence, the Medicine King's group successfully escaped from the city of Snake-People.


	100. Chapter 100

When the hot sun in the sky gradually set, the outline of Rock Desert City slowly appeared at the edge of Noah's sight. Looking at the yellow mud city that stood within a sandstorm in the distance, Noah let out a sigh. 

[When is this snake finally going to separate from my hand...] Even after half a month, the small seven-colored snake still stuck tightly to Noah's arm. It spent most of it's time sleeping, only occasionally waking up and absorbing Noah's mana.

No matter how much Noah politely tried to ask it to leave, it would ignore him and just go to sleep. "Noah my friend, I've been meaning to ask, why do you speak so respectfully to a pet?" Niolo flew by Noah's side as he asked.

"I have a feeling that Queen Medusa is still present inside this little snake. Perhaps she's just asleep and has yet to wake up. I have to get rid of her until she does, or we'll both die gruesome deaths." Noah replied with a troubled expression.

"I don't think so. Although, I wouldn't mind a beaty such as her accompanying us, if you know what I'm saying, hehehehe..." A lustful gleam appeared in Niolo's eyes as he eyed the little snake. "You don't even have a body." Noah replied blandly.

"Sigh, unfortunately... But when I get it, I'm immediately visiting any brothel in eyesight! Being in this desert made me appreciate Snake-Women. I can't wait until-" "Get in the spellbook." Noah quickly ordered him. 

Some time later, Noah entered Rock Desert City. He passed through a few streets before walking toward the city corner that belonged to the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company'.

While he was walking, Noah’s gaze swept across this street that should have many mercenaries gathering. He found something weird. He noticed that the street had currently become more desolate.

The mercenaries that were walking up and down had decreased tremendously and most of the mercenaries wore the same kind of badge on their chest. Having stayed in the Rock Desert City for a period of time, Noah knew that this badge belonged to the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’.

[There is something wrong... when has the number of members of the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ increased to this many?] Noah thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes. He slowly passed through this street, raised his chin and eyed the huge compound located at the end of the street. 

This place was the headquarters of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’. In the past, this place was noisy and crowded, bustling with activity. However, now the street was in chaos and the stores around seemed to have closed a long time ago. 

A while later, he arrived just outside the door of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’. Outside the main door, the tall fluttering banner of the mercenary troop had already weakly fallen to the ground. On top of the banner were countless obvious footprints.

Sensing trouble, Noah quickly walked towards the main door. His palm slowly pushed open the main door. A creaking sound gradually sounded. Following which, the door gap also widened. 

When the door was nearly halfway opened, a long spear that was covered with fresh blood suddenly shot out from behind the door and violently pierced at Noah’s throat.

The sudden attack did not cause Noah’s expression to have any change. His gaze indifferently eyed the swiftly enlarging tip of a spear. His body did not even move.

When the sharp long lance had reached about half a meter from Noah’s body, the tip of the lance seemingly hit something hard. In an instant, that long lance had broken apart.

With an emotionless expression, Noah swung his right fist. He violently smashed it at the thick door. Instantly, a soft muffled noise sounded and a hole the size of a human head swiftly appeared. 

Noah’s fist was extended into it. He opened his fist and grabbed forward in a lightning like manner. Immediately, a human figure was violently pulled out. His head, which was covered with fresh blood, just fit the hole that Noah had just created.

“Your Excellency?” The human figure who was caught had a face that was vicious and fierce. However, when his gaze swept across Noah’s indifferent expression, he suddenly stilled momentarily and immediately let out an involuntary cry that was filled with unrestrained joy.

The sharp cry by the human figure stopped Noah’s action which was about to smash the former’s head into pieces. 

The glint in his eyes gradually withdrew as he lowered his head and eyed this person whose face was covered with fresh blood. 

“Are you a member of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’?” He asked. “Cough Cough, Your Excellency, I am the group leader of one of the eight groups in the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’. The last time, the company leader even ordered us to help check out the underground cavern in the desert…” 

After coughing intensely for a few times, fresh blood flowed out from the man’s mouth. He parted his mouth and revealed the white teeth stained by fresh blood as he laughed in a silly manner.

Noah carefully pulled the man out from the hole and handed him a healing potion. Noah’s eyes swept the body that was completely covered in wounds.

“Your Excellency, you should hurry to the training ground. I’m afraid company leader and the others won’t be able to withstand any longer. There are far too many ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ members that have come this time around.” After consuming the healing medicine, the man's expression was much better. 

He pointed at the direction of the training ground in the troop and said with a hoarse voice. "‘Sand Mercenary Company? Why would they make trouble for you?” Hearing this, Noah was a little surprised. 

He already threatened Berman by pretending to be a General Rank Mage. Why is Berman trying to create trouble now? This made no sense.

“For some reason, the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ began to suddenly clear up all the rest of the mercenary companies in the Rock Desert City some time ago. Berman relied on his strength as an Officer and quickly recruited up some of the small mercenary companies."

"Originally, with our ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company's’ strength, we needed not fear them. After all, we may not have a peak Officer Rank but the number of Paragon Ranks we have far exceeded the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’...” 

The man appeared to worry that there was not enough time, thus his tone was fast and hurried. “But during the last few days, the number of Paragons within the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ suddenly increased by seven or eight. Moreover, another Officer Rank Mage also appeared! With their strength surging to this point, the other middle sized mercenary companies in the ‘Rock Desert City’ seemed to have been completely cleared up within a few days. And today is the day which the ultimatum they gave our ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ expires.”

“An increase in seven or eight Paragons and one Officer?” Hearing this, Noah was stunned. He frowned. [The ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ should not possess this kind of strength.]

“Where’s Sarah? Isn’t she in possession of a peak Officer Rank pet?” Noah felt a small suspicion, and he asked.

“Some time ago, before the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’s’ roundup, Sarah didn’t return after venturing out once. When the company leader sent someone to check it out, it seems that Sarah was captured by someone...” The man smiled bitterly and answered.

Noah slowly exhaled a breath. He knew exactly what happened. [It's the World Will again, this big of a change to the future can only be done by that thing.]

“Alright. Leave everything to me next. With me around, the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ will be alright...” Noah said. The mercenary nodded his head heavily. 

Although he didn't believe that Noah could fix the situation too much, he at least believed that he could save the two company leaders.

Noah left the man to tend to his wounds. An annoyed expression flashed across his face as he took out the demonic spellbook. "Niolo, we have a bit of an annoyance..."

On the spacious training ground, the black mess of human heads was divided into two clusters. The gazes that they shot at each other were filled with a killing intent that was difficult to hide.

In the battleground, two human figures were fighting a desperate battle. The attacks by the two people were extremely aggressive. Any slight negligence would lead one to receive a fatal attack.

One of the human figures was using a spear. He would attack the other figure relentlessly, trying to strike at all possible weak spots. Despite his fierce attacks, however, it did not appear to pose much of an obstruction to his opponent. 

Each time his attack was about to reach the other person’s body, the latter would easily be able to dodge the sweeps and pierces of the silver colored long lance.

Looking at this person easily dodging, it was clear that the the class of the two people were not on the same level. However, the middle aged human figure did not choose to swiftly end the fight. This playful manner of his was like a cat toying with a mouse.

On the side of the empty space, a large group of Desert Metal Mercenary Company members were staring at the fight in the battleground with furious eyes. 

They clearly knew that that the action of the middle aged man meant that he was making fun of and ridiculing them. Among these people, Dylan stood expressionlessly. However, a mad fury shrouded his eyes.

“Company leader. The back door has also been surrounded by them. We have nowhere to escape.” A mercenary in a somewhat dire state squeezed in from the back and gravely said.

“As expected… they’ve really left no room for us!” Dylan tightened his fist and inhaled a deep breath. He did his best to ensure that his rational would not be swallowed by his fury. 

“Since we cannot flee, then let us fight to the death. If they want to remove our ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’, how can we not let them pay the price with their blood?”

“Radley is about to lose. Although his attacks are very strong, it’s just that the opponent is after all an Officer Rank…” Lifting his head to watch the fight in the battleground that was fast approaching the end, Dylan’s body trembled slightly. The fury in his heart was gradually eroding into his reasoning.

“Ha ha, trash is just trash. In front of absolute strength, it doesn't matter how much you struggle. All of you just go and die!” Facing the lance that shot forward, the other human figure laughed unrestrainedly with disdain. 

His huge fist abruptly tightened and his mana wildly agglomerated in it. The tightened fist abruptly shot out. An intense wind that was accompanied by a ferocious force smashed against the lance.

As the two clashed against each other, the fist of the unarmed human figure destroyed the steel lance with great ease. After destroying it, it's strength was not reduced as it heavily smashed into Radley's chest.

Receiving the heavy blow, Radley's face became white as a mouthful of blood was thrown up. His body was dragged across the ground and was thrown back for over ten meters before he heavily knocked into a huge rock at the edge of the training ground.

“Hahaha, With such little strength, you dare to be arrogant to me?” The middle aged man coldly laughed. His feet stepped on the ground and his body, like a tank on a rampage shot toward Radley, who had lost his fighting strength. 

On his fist, there was an unmatched ferocious force that was swiftly gathering. Looking at his stance, it was clear that he had no intention of leaving anyone alive.

“Ha ha, die!” Eyeing Radley who was in his immediate vicinity, a cruelty surfaced on the middle aged man. His fist violently smashed forward.

Just as the pair of huge fist was not even a meter from Radley, a black shadow appeared in front of him in a lightning like manner. 

*Grab!* The middle aged man was surprised, as his fist was stopped in it's tracks. He looked at the new figure who was holding his arm. "Who are you?" 

"You don't need to know. You're not important." Noah answered indifferently as he coldly looked at the man.


	101. Chapter 101

On the spacious battleground, the young man’s icy calm voice slowly resounded, causing countless of people to glance over.

“Noah?” Eyeing the young man who had suddenly appeared, Dylan, who was on the other side of the open space, was at a momentary loss. Immediately, a wild joy surfaced on his somewhat dark and vicious face. His palms heavily clapped together. “This guy has really come at a perfect moment.”

“Hehe, looks like our Desert Metal Mercenary Company has not reached its end.” The fist that he held tightly slowly stretched and opened. Dylan inhaled a deep breath and slowly suppressed the unrestrained joy in his heart. 

He turned his head and said those words with a smile to the company members. Although Noah was young, Dylan had an extremely great confidence in this somewhat mysterious younger friend of his. 

The previous incident when Noah managed to frighten the Sand Mercenary Company by himself until not one of them dared to leave the city also caused this confidence of Dylan’s to become even bigger.

Seeing that Dylan was full of smiles, everyone also sighed in relief, but many of them did not know why this young man could let the two company leaders possess such confidence all of a sudden. 

The hearts of the members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company were quite perturbed. 

However after following Dylan for so many years, they at least understood that this company leader who was cool-headed when doing things, would definitely not randomly boast in this kind of situation.

Everyone exchanged glances with each other. Their eyes immediately revealed a smile and the expectation of being able to survive from a near-death situation. 

They hoped that this young man Noah would really be able to help the Desert Metal Mercenary Company find a solution for today’s annihilation crisis.

“Radley, are you alright?” Noah turned his head around and eyed the blood covered Radley. He took out a healing potion and threw it toward Radley’s chest as he inquired.

"Cough cough..." After intensely coughing out some blood, Radley carelessly rubbed the blood traces from the corner of his mouth. After which, he consumed the healing potion, lifted his head and watched the young man standing in front of him. 

A glow surfaced on his pale white face. He parted his mouth and his tensed up body also quietly relaxed. Leaning on the huge rock behind him, Radley’s voice was somewhat hoarse as he laughed. 

“Noah, you have finally returned. If you had arrived a little later, you might well have had to go to the grave in order to chat with me.”

"I'm late. My apologies for that." Noah answered before turning his head to the middle aged man. "Friend, I don't know who you are but I suggest that you stay out of this. This has nothing to do with you with you." The middle aged man spoke with some respect.

Clearly, he didn't underestimate this young man in front of him who caught his fist. "That is factually wrong. It has everything to do with me." As he spoke, Noah lightly tapped on his cloak two times.

Immediately, terrifying pressure landed on the middle aged man, making him break into cold sweat. His eyes shrunk to the size of a pinhead. "Y-you, it can't be-" "Be quiet. No one cares." Noah placed his hand on the man's head. "Soulsearch."

A few moments later, a corpse with blood coming out of it's pores fell on the ground lifelessly. [Just hired muscle. No useful information. Interesting, looks like someone is a little careful.] With a flick of his finger, Noah created a small flame that thoroughly incinerated the corpse to ash.

The people present weren't even allowed a moment to express their shock as Noah waved his hand at the Sand Mercenary Company members, cutting them into pieces.

"That's done with." Noah turned his head to the stunned Desert Mercenary Company members. Dylan was especially surprised. "Noah, you broke through to General Rank?!" "No, I did not. It was just a small trick." Noah waved his head with a smile.

"Anyway, I believe we have something to talk about?" On his hint, Dylan properly fixed his thick glasses as he shook his head helplessly. [I just cannot understand this guy...] "Indeed. I'll explain everything to you. Follow me." 

Later, Noah and a few others were seated in a spacious hall. The rest of the members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company began to busily clear up their headquarters, which had become a mess. 

Occasionally, when some mercenaries passed by the parlor, they would throw a respectful gaze at the young man seated beside the table who was smiling warmly as he gently sipped his tea.

He then inquired about Radley’s injuries before he frowned slightly. “So, what exactly has happened? Why did the Sand Mercenary Company suddenly have so many more strong people? Also, what has happened to that little girl Sarah?”

Hearing Noah’s questions, the smile on Dylan’s face slowly disappeared. He laughed bitterly and sighed before musing for awhile, seeming to be arranging his words. 

A long while later, he finally opened his mouth. “A week ago, Sarah never returned after going out once. We investigated the matter, and she seems to have been captured by someone. At the place where she disappeared, we found traces of an intense battle. That place also had many snake scales that were covered with fresh blood, which I think have been peeled off from Sarah's familiar."

“Being able to defeat the familiar and capturing Sarah, the other party must be a General Rank or have multiple peak Officer Ranks.” Noah’s finger gently knocked against the table’s surface as he knit his eyebrows tightly together.

"Yes, but I don't know who it was." Dylan smiled bitterly and shook his head. “It is also the second day after Sarah disappeared when the Sand Mercenary Company suddenly began to swallow or clean-up the other strengths in the city."

“Do you know about the background of those people who suddenly joined the Sand Mercenary Company?” Noah slowly stroked the warm tea cup as he asked.

“We are not sure.” Dylan shook his head. An expression of deep thought appeared on his face and a moment later, he opened his mouth. 

“I seem to feel that Sarah’s disappearance had some relation to the strong people who suddenly joined the Sand Mercenary Company. After all, the timing of these two events seemed to be a little too coincidental.”

“You may not know, but I think that Berman should know.” Noah sat up and smiled. “I will go and find him and see exactly where his courage came from at the same time.”

“We will go and gather some people. Let’s go together. They have many people.” Dylan voiced his thoughts. “Do what you want.” Regarding this, Noah was noncommittal as he nodded his head. He stood up and headed out of the door.

Further behind, Dylan and Radley swiftly gathered over fifty highly capable members and the entire group of people aggressively charged out of the headquarters. 

Their faces were filled with killing intent as they headed directly towards the territory of the Sand Mercenary Company, preparing to exterminate them.

On the main road, when the surrounding passersbies saw this group of fierce faced mercenaries who had suddenly leaped out, they hurriedly made way. Immediately, their bizarre gazes eyed this group of men. Soft whispers rang out among themselves.

“Wait, aren’t they the members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company? Why do they dare to come out during this time? Aren’t they afraid of the Sand Mercenary Company?”

"I've heard that the Sand Mercenary Company sent a peak Officer Rank Warrior at them today, but since they are here, does that mean he died?" One person asked.

"That's impossible, company leader Dylan doesn't have such strength. Then, could it be that young man in the front? Who is he, I've never seen him before?" 

"Let's wait and see. This time around, I think that the Sand Mercenary Company is going to have extremely bad luck. Who asked them to be so arrogant during this period of time. Hehe.” Another man laughed in a gloating manner.

Under the watch of numerous gazes in the city, Noah’s group passed through a few streets and after ten minutes, the tightly guarded Sand Mercenary Company headquarters that was like a metal pail, appeared in everyone’s sight.

Currently, the Sand Mercenary Company had obviously received the information about the death of that Officer Rank Warrior. Therefore, the entrance had a large number of mercenaries carrying shiny weapons patrolling. 

Their tensed faces were extremely grave. When they noticed the large group of Desert Metal Mercenary Company appear at the end of the street, a panic immediately swarmed onto their faces. 

A few mercenaries used both their hands and legs to claw into the huge door and rushed to report the matter. 

Watching those Sand Mercenary Company mercenaries whose bodies were trembling slightly as they carried their weapons and gathered at the large door, Noah's group slowly came to a stop just outside the entrance.

“This is the territory of the Sand Mercenary Company. What are all of you here for?” Seeing the group of large men with ferocious faces and fierce eyes blocking the front door, a bony mercenary roared with a brave exterior while feeling weak inside.

“Call Berman to come out. His death has arrived.” Noah picked away at his finger nail before raising his head and told the guy with a smile.

Silence. Eyeing the young man in a white cloak standing right at the front, all of the mercenaries at the door maintained silence. 

From the news they received from the Desert Metal Mercenary Company just now, they already knew that the a peak Officer Rank Warrior had died in an extremely miserable condition in this warmly smiling young man’s hands.

“Forget it, I will just go in and look for him myself.” Seeing the silent mercenaries, Noah smiled and slowly took a step forward.

As Noah took a step forward, the mercenaries at the door immediately hurriedly took a step back with panicked faces. Their orderly footsteps were quite funny to hear.

“The company leader issued an order. Kill them at all cost! Whoever kills this white cloaked person will be rewarded with fifty thousand gold coins!” In the midst of the silence, a loud shout suddenly sounded from behind the large door.

As the shout fell, the eyes of the mercenaries at the door immediately brightened. The gazes that they eyed Noah had less terror and more greed.

Clearly sensing the change in these people, Noah sighed to himself. He was too lazy to say any nonsense. 

After waving his hand to block those Desert Metal Mercenary Company members behind him who were preparing to draw their blades, he once again took a step forward.

“Kill him!” Under that enormous reward, there was finally a mercenary who could not resist the temptation. He tightly held his sharp weapon and charged at Noah with a ferocious face, intending to kill him.

His action undoubtedly created a chain effect. Immediately, the mercenaries behind him wore fierce faces as they held their weapons tightly and charged at Noah.

*Swoosh!* Noah lazily waved his hand. A blue mana slash went through the bodies of mercenaries like a hot knife through butter. No amount of armor would be able to protect an ordinary person from a Ranked Mage.

The mana slash also hit the door, destroying it and the walls around it, creating a big hole. Noah took the lead and stepped through the doorway. His blatant manner made it appear as if he was entering his own home.

The Sand Mercenary Company was indeed the most powerful strength in the Rock Desert City. They had just entered the courtyard when over a hundred mercenaries carrying shining weapons immediately surrounded them. 

Although they had a weaker killing atmosphere compared to the Desert Metal mercenaries, they did have some momentum after having so many people gathered together.

Eyeing the large group of mercenaries blocking his front, Noah’s footsteps did not pause even the slightest bit. At this point, he didn't even need to attack. The Desert Metal Mercenary Company members, with Radley at the lead, did the job for him.

In the large hall which had it's door tightly shut, tens of people were walking about uneasily. As they heard the blood-curling screams that sounded not far outside the door, their faces were completely filled with alarm. 

A panicked atmosphere covered the interior of the entire hall. On the leader’s seat in the hall, Berman’s face was a little pale as he sat on it. The tea cup which he held in his hand trembled slightly. 

He lifted his head to eye the hall before turning it toward the few people not far from him. These people did not wear the uniform of the Sand Mercenary Company. Their chests also did not have the badge for the Sand Mercenary Company.

“I have already told the few of you that those two bastards have support of a young General Rank. Yet you all still insisted on destroying them. Look at things now. That guy has returned. Now they have even attacked. How can we resist them?” Berman’s voice appeared somewhat sharp because of his anger.

“Company leader Berman, you need not worry too much. That person’s strength is indeed a little strong, but from the situation of his fight with that Officer Rank, it is far from the possibility of being a General Rank as you have said." The man in his prime who was probably the leader of the group laughed.

"But, he had come to my room in a bizarre manner. I dare say that the kind of speed is something that an Officer Rank Mage would not be able to possess.” Berman’s face was gloomy as he replied.

“Back then, did company leader Berman exchange blows with him?” The man asked with a smile. “No.”

“Ke ke, that’s right. Perhaps his speed may be very fast, but in a fight between two Officer Ranks, speed isn't everything. Perhaps that guy only has fast speed.” 

Hearing this, hesitation flashed across Berman’s face. His heart gradually began to think it over. He nodded his head slightly. 

Back then, because of Noah’s bizarre appearance, he was shaken until he had somewhat panicked and jumpy. Now that he thought about it, how could a young man that was barely twenty be a General Rank? 

Even if he ate all sorts of natural treasures everyday and took high grade potions, that was definitely impossible.

Thinking in this manner, the gloominess on Berman’s face gradually disappeared. He clenched his fist tightly and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. 

“Just as well. This time, let me take a look at just how strong this guy actually this. I really don’t believe that he alone can knock aside the ten plus Paragon Ranks in here!” He said viciously.

Seeing the imposing manner of Berman's gradually returning, everyone in the hall who had a tensed expression quietly heaved a sigh of relief. At this moment, if even the leader did not possess any intention to fight, it would really be hopeless.

*Bang!* As everyone’s heart gradually became heated up, a bang sounded. The tightly closed door was convulsed into countless broken pieces which shot in all directions. In the doorway, the sawdust gradually scattered and a white cloak slowly appeared in everyone’s sight.


	102. Chapter 102

"Looks like you became dumber since last time, Berman." The hearts of everyone in the hall tensed slightly. They lifted their eyes and looked over. 

In the doorway, a young man in a white cloak was carelessly standing there with a smile. A thread of inclined sunlight had just happened to shine into the hall. At one glance, it was as warm as the smile on the young man’s face.

Their gazes swept across the smiling delicate and handsome face before stopping on the pair of brown eyes. There, his eyes did not hold the slightest smile in there. Instead, they were indifferent and icy.

Seeing Noah’s figure, everyone in the big hall hurriedly took a few steps back and swarmed to Berman’s side. Even the few people of unknown origin by the side also acted in this manner.

Noah’s gaze swept once around the interior of the hall before slowly walking in. Behind him, Dylan and the rest also filed into the room and stared at the group of people opposite with ill intentions.

“Company leader Berman, I spared you last time as I didn't want to destroy the balance of powers in Rock Desert City." After sweeping his sight over the few people whose clothes were different from the members of the Sand Mercenary Company, Noah shifted his eyes toward Berman who was seated on a chair. “It seems that letting you live the last time was a mistake.” He said with a smile.

Being stared at by Noah’s cold pair of eyes, Berman’s body felt somewhat cold. He twisted his body uneasily, turned his head and eyed his subordinates that had swarmed behind him. 

The corner of his eyes twitched slightly while the tea cup in his hand was molded into powder with a ‘bang’. “Are you the one who is called Noah?” The tea mixed with the powder as it followed his hand and dripped down. 

However, Berman did his best to make his expression a little more indifferent as he asked. “I don’t know what exactly your background is and I don’t wish to know. However, shouldn’t you give me an explanation for swaggering and breaking into my Sand Mercenary Company today?” Berman said with a cold smile.

“I’m going to kill you and exterminate the Sand Mercenary Company. Does that sound good enough?” Noah said with a brilliant smile while putting his arms behind his back.

Berman’s face twitched a couple of times. Noah’s impertinent expression always caused him to be filled with anger. Moreover, under this anger, there was an internal struggle from Berman of not being able to clearly see the actual power of the opponent. 

Berman clenched his teeth and violently smashed his hand on the table in front of him. Immediately, the tough table surface was turned into broken pieces all over the floor.

“Alright, today, I really want to see on what basis are you going to break the Sand Mercenary Company with!” With an angry shout, powerful pressure was released from Berman's body.

“Since all of you have delivered yourself to my door, it saves me some trouble. Today, all of you can remain here!” The powerful pressure that had begun surging within his body also caused Berman’s confidence to gradually strengthen. 

Sensing this strong pressure, the expressions of Dylan and the others changed. Their footsteps involuntarily took a step back.

Noah calmly watched the company leader. Berman knitted his eyebrows as he thought that Noah was provoking him. An uneasiness gradually rose in his mind. “Kill all of them!”

Hearing Berman's order, the ten plus Sand Mercenary Company elite members behind him exchanged looks with one another. Immediately, they clenched their teeth and drew the sharp weapons from their waist. 

"What an idiot." With two light taps on his cloak, a terrifying pressure was emitted from Noah. The mercenaries who were running over died in an instant, squashed into bloody pulps.

Beside Berman, the few Paragon Ranks who did not belong to the Sand Mercenary Company felt their mind explode. They now knew that Berman’s perception back then seemed to be right.

[A General Rank powerhouse! But how?! Why would someone like him be here?!] The man who seemed to be the leader gritted his teeth to prevent them from shaking.

Turning his head slightly, Noah indifferently eyed the stunned Berman seated on a chair. His footsteps slowly passed between the ten bloody remains.

Noah’s footsteps slowly walked into the hall. A moment later, under the clear view of numerous gazes, he stood in front of Berman. He lowered his head slightly and pulled at the corner of his mouth. 

“The last time I already gave you a warning. Why are you still so stupid?” He said in a soft and gentle voice.

“Gu!” Berman’s throat rolled as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. From his forehead, cold sweat moved along his face and dripped down. 

He raised his head and eyed the delicate and handsome face of the young man which carried a faint smile. At this moment, Berman sensed the breath of death as well as the terror that swarmed over him just before facing death.

Berman clenched his teeth tightly together, seemingly unwilling to lose without a fight. He used all his might to push the mana in his body. Immediately, his muscles became tougher, seemingly unbreakable.

Noah stared at Berman who was defiant even when he was about to die. He smiled gently and his hand was slowly lifted. After which it floated gently towards where Berman’s face was.

Berman stared intently at the increasingly large hand. He wanted to dodge and then counterattack only to suddenly realise that at the moment, his own body completely did not listen to his orders. It was as though the owner of the body had changed.

The hand gently landed on Berman's face. Noah smiled slightly. With his eyes shrinking to the size of a pin-hole at the moment, Berman could sense that he was going to die. 

At this moment, all the pores on Berman had instantly and abruptly become vertical. A faint shadow of death was stubbornly entangled in his heart. “Y- Your Excellency! Have mercy!”

During the exchange this time around, Berman finally and precisely sensed the other party’s terrifying strength. His body sat stiffly on the seat, afraid that with any slight movement of his, that death god’s hand would suddenly nip away his life. 

His face was as pale as porculean and cold sweat was seeping out all over his body. In only just a moment, it was as though his clothes had been soaked in water. "Y-your Excellency, please have mercy!" 

“Do you know of any news about Sarah?” Noah tilted his head slightly, smiled and asked in a gentle voice. Hearing this, Berman was slightly startled. During the instant when he was quiet, the palm on his face seemed to move. 

He raised his head and eyed that pair of eyes which were as brown and as indifferent. He did not have the slightest doubt that if he hesitated for another moment, the other party would immediately kill him. 

Immediately, his head hurriedly nodded. His voice was somewhat rushed and sharp because of his fear. “Your Excellency, I know!”

“Congratulations, your life has temporarily returned to your hands.” Noah laughed softly and slowly withdrew his hand. Although his smile filled face was as warm as the hot sun, it still caused Berman and the others to feel a chill in their bodies.

Under the numerous dull gazes in the hall, Noah randomly drew a chair and sat down with a big action. He glanced at the pale faced Berman, gently picked at his fingernail and said indifferently. 

“Tell me. What happened to you recently? With your character, you don’t appear to have the boldness to sweep away all the strengths in Rock Desert City.”

Berman could only smile awkwardly. He was quiet for a moment before speaking. “Indeed, I have never thought of dominating the territory of Rock Desert City. Moreover, the Sand Mercenary Company does not possess the strength to remove all the other groups within the Rock Desert City.”

“All of this may have started because of the little girl called Sarah from the Desert Metal Mercenary Company.” Berman’s expression was somewhat regretful.

“Berman, you better be careful about what you are saying! Our family can help you dominate the Rock Desert City, but it can also destroy all of you instantly!” Just as Berman was preparing to reveal everything, the man who was the leader of the few people at the side suddenly warned.

Hearing this warning, Berman’s expression changed. A moment later, he viciously turned around and angrily said to the man. “Dammit, were it not for all of you, I would not have today’s ending.”

“Who are they?” Noah turned his head, stared at the few men who were not from the Sand Mercenary Company and asked softly.

Seeing Noah glancing over, the few men hurriedly took a few steps back. Their faces were filled with fear. Clearly, Noah's actions just now had already caused terror to rise within these people’s hearts.

“They are members of the Siirto Family. The little girl called Sarah was captured personally by their First Elder. Not long after they captured her, the Siirto Family contacted us, telling us that they can lend us some people and help us dominate the Rock Desert City. However, their condition was that we must kill off all the people in the Desert Metal Mercenary Company!” Berman’s gaze swept over Dylan and the others behind Noah as he talked.

"Siirto Family? A Marquis family of the Brabet Kingdom?" Noah looked at the remaining Siirto Family members present in the hall. "Y-" Although the man who looked like the leader wanted to say something, he wasn't given a chance.

Noah grabbed him and Soulsearched him, killing the rest. As the few Siirto Family members in the hall were slaughtered, the atmosphere in the hall was suddenly one in which silence reigned.

With cold sweat slowly dripping down from his forehead, Berman sat on the chair, not daring to make even the slightest movement. 

He stealthily glanced at the gloomy face of the young man in a white cloak. Suddenly, the young man opened his mouth. "Oh, I see now." Noah digested the information. [So they're also interested in Sarah's eyes, huh?] 

Noah turned his head around. His gaze was focused on Berman. “Company leader Berman. Next we should have a discussion about the problem between us. Regardless of whether you were ordered by someone, the very significant damage that you have done to the Desert Metal Mercenary Company is a fact.”

Hearing this, cold sweat began flowing down Berman’s face. Without realizing it, his face was like the color of the ground. “The Sand Mercenary Company is willing to compensate your company with half of our mana crystals. Will this do?”

"70%? 80%? 90%?... All of them?" Seeing that Noah still shook his head and that the smile on his face was growing icier, Berman finally wailed. “Your Excellency, what exactly do you want? Why don’t you tell me. With your strength, our Sand Mercenary Company does not even have the slightest chance of resisting."

At this moment, Berman had completely given up. With Noah’s terrifying strength, the Sand Mercenary Company did not have the right to speak of conditions with him.

“Let the Sand Mercenary Company merge into the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. Give the low-grade members some money and remove them. Members who are close to becoming Paragons can remain. If they are Paragon Ranks, they can retain their current positions.” Noah's finger gently knocked the back of his hand as he slowly spoke.

Hearing Noah’s words, everyone in the hall was at a loss. Immediately, their expressions became interesting to watch. Dylan and Radley exchanged glances with one another and felt their hearts slightly move. 

If the Desert Metal Mercenary Company really swallowed up the Sand Mercenary Company, then not just in the Rock Desert City, even the strengths in the cities nearby would have difficulty contending with them. 

When that time came, the development of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company would definitely rise swiftly!

Although this measure had quite a great benefit, it's drawbacks were also extremely obvious. The Sand Mercenary Company was stronger than the Desert Metal Mercenary Company. If they were to merge over, there was a hidden danger of them taking over the leadership. 

When that time came, the Desert Metal Mercenary Company might end up becoming a great mess internally. If that were to be the case, then the losses would be greater than the gains.

“Company leader Berman, do you want to merge, or do you want me to clean up? How do you wish to choose, you can decide for yourself.” Talking until this point, Noah paused and then added. “I hope you will not disappoint me.”

Being stared at by that pair of brown eyes, the corner of Berman’s mouth twitched a few times involuntarily. He took in a deep breath as his expression repeatedly and swiftly changed.

Following his silence, the interior of the hall once again fell into silence. The quiet atmosphere only had the slight sound of Noah gently knocking on the table’s surface.

The silence persisted for a long while. Just as the smile on Noah’s face was gradually being withdrawn, Berman finally smiled bitterly and sighed. “Today, if I did not agree, I’m afraid that the Sand Mercenary Company would immediately be disbanded.”

Noah simply smiled and was noncommittal. “Then do you think I even have a choice?” Berman’s face was filled with bitterness as he asked.

“It seems like you don’t.” Noah replied. After looking at the bitter smile on Berman's face and knowing his choice, Noah shrugged his shoulders. He flipped his palm and a few glass epruvetes appeared in his hand. 

His gaze swept at Berman and the three Paragons behind him. He then threw one to each of them. Inside was a black purple liquid.

“Don’t say that I don’t trust you. Of course, even if I tell you all now that I trust you, I’m afraid that you would also not believe me.” After saying a mouthful words, Noah smiled.

“These things cannot be considered a potent poison. However, if the poison were to erupt, I believe that other than company leader Berman who should be able to endure for a while, I’m afraid that the remaining three would die on the spot.”

Turning his head to Berman, Noah added. “Remember, I said endure a little longer and not that you can withstand the poison.”

Seeing Berman and the three others’ stiffened expressions, Noah said with a smile. “This is only some precautions that I have taken. After all, it is impossible for me to completely trust all of you. I will hand the antidote in stages to Dylan. As long as you don’t try anything funny, you will naturally be alright. When you have obtained true trust in the future, I will help you all remove the poison.”

“It seems that we have no choice but to drink it?” Holding the epruvete in his hand, Berman was quiet for a moment before sighing. 

He was clear in his heart that if he did not consume the poison, Noah would definitely not believe that they would willingly merge.

Noah nodded his head slightly and softly said. “Company leader Berman is an intelligent person. You naturally understand that I am doing this as an insurance.”

After bitterly laughing, Berman lifted his head and stared at Noah. Although that face still carried a smile, within the pair of eyes there was the usual iciness and indifferentness. 

Being looked at by the icy gaze, Berman shuddered coldly in his heart. He believed that if he and the others refused to consume this poison, their ending would not be much different from the few people from the Siirto Family earlier.

Sighing again, Berman turned to the three subordinates and exchanged glances. They smiled bitterly and shook their heads before swallowing the poison. Regardless of the situation, their lives today had at least been preserved.

Eyeing the four people who consumed the poison, Noah nodded his head. "You should prepare everything for the merger. Report to Dylan in the future." 

After saying this, Noah turned around and walked out of the hall. Dylan glanced at the despondent looking Berman before following closely behind Noah.

Following behind Noah, the group of members of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company eyed the figure in front of them. Their minds felt somewhat giddy. 

In only half a day, the largest strength in the Rock Desert City had actually been forcefully merged into the Desert Metal Mercenary Company? This comedic scene really caused everyone to feel as though they were dreaming.

Once outside, Noah slowed down. "My apologies for that, Dylan. This merger may give you some trouble in the future." Dylan shook his head in return. "Don't worry, I can handle it. In fact, I have to thank you, Noah. This is all your accomplishment today." 

"Haha, we're friends, aren't we? Obviously I'll help my friends." Noah's words caused Dylan to be touched. For so called friends, Noah and Dylan didn't have that deep of a friendship. 

And yet, Noah saved their lives, helped them take revenge and even increased their strength in Rock Desert City. 

Dylan couldn't ignore all that. "Noah, what do you say about joining the Desert Metal Mercenary Company? Of course, I won't force you to stay here, you can be the third company leader, but without much responsibility." 

Noah smiled. "How can I refuse? Call me if there's any problem." He drew a small magic imprint on the air and sent it to Dylan, who stored it in his small book.

Not long after, he left Rock Desert City. It was time to take Sarah for himself, and exterminate the Siirto Family.


	103. Chapter 103

Four Seasons Garden was one of the top forces in the Brabet Kingdom. It's headquarters was built on top of a majestic mountain, located only slightly over hundred kilometers from the capital of the Brabet Kingdom. The mountain, because of the faction’s name, became known as the Four Seasons Mountain.

Four Seasons Mountain was a most precipitous place. Three of its sides were cliffs and there was only one road that led to the Mountain’s summit: a dangerous place which was easy to defend, but hard to lay siege to. Moreover, the faction’s disciples tightly patrolled the mountain, making the entire mountain a small fortress.

The mountain summit at the back of Four Seasons Mountain was shouldered by cloud and fog, appearing much like paradise.

On a black rock jutting from the edge of the mountain cliff, a white clad young lady was training with her sword. Her long pink hair was lifted by the wind and floated in the air.

“Lady Charlotte, Lord Esford has arrived at the Four Seasons Garden. He says he wishes to see you.” Seeing that the young lady had finally stopped her training, a female servant, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly, but respectfully asked.

“Father? Why is he here?” Having heard the servant, the lady, as she gracefully rose, furrowed her brow and shook her head with suspicion. As she stood at the cliff’s edge, the wind brushed past, pressing her clothes against her exquisite form.

After lazily sweeping her gaze towards the seemingly bottomless space below the cliff, the lady’s hand lightly brushed her moon white dress before she spun around and left the training ground that was specially reserved for her.

Nearby, in a spacious and bright large hall, a somewhat gloomy looking middle-aged man was sipping at his tea cup. His other hand was steadily knocking on the table’s surface in an irritated manner.

Eugene Esford was a middle aged man with dark pink hair that reached his shoulders, dark pink eyes and a small beard. He wore a blue noble clothing with purple accents, a yellow sash around his waist and dark blue pants.

Right now, Eugene was extremely fidgety and on edge after his father, the Grand Duke Reynold Esford, had almost used a pole to beat him up and force him to visit Four Seasons Garden.

He did not expect that the year in which he led troops to garrison at the western side of the kingdom, his audacious daughter would dare to privately end the engagement that his father had arranged.

There was no one in the Esford Family who did not know that Reynold Esford was extremely concerned about his reputation. His daughter’s actions would undoubtedly cause others to say that the Esford Family had no honor. 

All the more, because she refused to be united through marriage in Martyr Family in their young master’s weakness.

This kind of gossip had caused Reynold to fly into a daily rage at home. Was it not for the fact that he was paralysed, he would have dragged his dying body and climbed the Four Seasons Mountain himself.

Truthfully, regarding the marriage between the Esford Family and the Martyr Family, Eugene was also not that supportive either. After all, their young master Callum back then was almost like the spokesperson for the label ‘Cripple’.

When he heard about the fact that his father wanted to marry off his own daughter to a sick boy in a wheelchair, Eugene felt like the world had turned upside down.

Having him allow his daughter, with her great beauty and talent, to marry a useless cripple was something that he was unwilling to do.

However, the past is in the past. According to the latest news, that little boy from the Martyr Family had not only gotten rid of the ‘Cripple’ label, but had also demonstrated a training speed that was even comparable to his daughter's own.

What's worse, the boy had shown immense talent in Alchemy, something previously unheard of before. He actually managed to concoct a Low Grade potion as an ordinary person, a feat usually only done by Paragon Rank Alchemists! 

And he was only eighteen years old! The monster like potential that young boy Marcus was currently displaying was something that captured Eugene's attention. 

However, Charlotte’s independent action had resulted in an extremely icy relationship between the two families and caused great embarrassment to Eugene in his social circle.

If such a relationship was to be prolonged, it might result in him not only losing a son-in-law with incredible potential but might also result in the latter harboring hatred towards the Esford Family.

Just thinking about having a person with the potential to become an Alchemist Grandmaster that looked at the Esford Family with enmity was something that both frightened and angered Eugene.

“This girl. Her rebelliousness is growing stronger and stronger…” The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The tea cup in Eugene’s hand suddenly landed heavily on the table, splashing tea all over it. 

Beside him, the female servant who was waiting on him received a shock. She quickly but carefully replaced the cup.

“You should have informed me before coming to the Four Seasons Garden.” Just when Eugene was extremely angry, a clear female voice suddenly sounded from the large hall. 

A moon white figure came strolling out from under a curtain as she sweetly spoke with a smile. 

“Hmph. Do you still see me as your father? I thought that after becoming a disciple of the Sect Leader, you had forgotten all about the family!” Seeing the growing charm of his daughter, Eugene’s anger was slightly abated as he coldly barked.

Eyeing the awful expression on her father’s face, Charlotte helplessly nodded her head. She waved her hand at the female servant beside her father, ordering her to leave.

“Father, you have not seen me for over a year and yet you start lecturing me the moment we meet. The next time I return home, I will definitely tell Mother about this!” After waiting for the female servant to leave, Charlotte immediately lifted her nose and sat beside Eugene as she hummed like a spoilt child.

“Return home? You still dare to return home?” Hearing her words, the corner of Eugene’s mouth cracked. “If you dare to return home, we will see whether your grandfather will break your legs or not.”

Pressing her lips together, Charlotte, who was well aware of the situation, clearly understood the meaning of her father’s words.

“You should be aware of my motive for being here, no?” After fiercely drinking a mouthful of tea, Eugene said with a icy expression.

“It is regarding the breaking off of my engagement, right?” Charlotte’s delicate hand played with her long hair as she faintly said.

Seeing Charlotte’s calm manner, Eugene could only sigh helplessly. Both his daughter and his father were two stubborn mules. “The marriage was something that your grandfather had personally promised back then. Who told you to cancel it?”

“That is my marriage. I don’t want to follow your wishes and marry whoever you pick. I will make my own decision in all my business. Regardless of who made the promise, all I know is that if I follow the agreement, the one who will marry is me, not Grandfather!” 

Bringing up the matter had caused Charlotte's face to show displeasure. As an independent person, she hated it when she had to follow the directions of another in regards to the important matters in her life, even if this person was her grandfather.

“Don’t you think that I am ignorant. This is nothing more than you feeling that the useless person that boy was then was not good enough for you. But his current potential is now no longer lower than yours. With your position in the Four Seasons Garden, you should have received news on the elevation of his strength.” Eugene said.

Charlotte ceased her eyebrows. In her mind, she recalled the young man filled with stubbornness back then. 

Pausing her red lips, she said indifferently. “I have indeed heard some news about him. I did not expect that he could actually get rid of the title ‘Cripple’. This has surprised me.”

“Surprised? One word ‘surprised’ and it’s alright? Your grandfather has spoken, ordering you to find time to go to Martyr Family. It would be best if we apologized and smoothened out the stiff relationship.” Eugene creased his eyebrows and said.

“Apologize? No way!” Hearing this, Charlotte’s eyebrow abruptly shot up. Rejecting without the slightest hesitation, she coldly said. 

“Although that Callum or whatever is no longer useless, I, Charlotte Esford, will still not marry him! Don’t even mention of going to apologize. If you like, you can go by yourself. In any case, I will not got to Martyr Family again.”

“You don’t have any room to say no. This mess was caused by you, so you must go and clear it up for me!” Seeing that Charlotte actually rebuffed him, Eugene suddenly became furious.

“I won’t go!” With a cold face, Charlotte lifted her chin in defiance, making Eugene once again remember his father. [She's so much like him. What am I supposed to do?]

He got up and started walking in circles. "The problem here isn't that you're refusing marriage. I also wasn't too thrilled before. But, why did you have to stab your fiancee?!" 

"I wasn't trying to!" Charlotte responded. "I was merely trying to scare him a little; I didn't know he would actually throw himself on my sword!" 

Eugene facepalmed himself. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration as he responded. "The point is, you stabbed him, young lady. And now all the other noble families are calling you "Savage Esford Princess" behind your back. When Father heard of this, he almost fainted on the spot!" 

"Hmph, who cares about those weaklings who only care about my looks. I came to Four Seasons Garden exactly because I couldn't endure those lustful gazes of theirs." Charlotte coldly harrumphed.

"Father, I can promise you that I will never shame the family. I am already a Paragon Rank Warrior at twenty one years. My Teacher says that I will certainly inherit the position of leader in the future." Charlotte's expression softened a little.

"But, who will become my husband, will be my decision and my decision alone! Even Grandfather won't reverse it." Eugene sighed. He really couldn't do anything to this rebellious daughter of his.

In the end, he gave up. "Fine. I'll somehow force Father to understand. But for that reason, you're not allowed to shame the family." 

Charlotte's face showed a happy smile, and she threw herself at her father and gave him a hug. "Thank you father. I promise I will become an excellent Sect Leader." 

[Father is going to give me another "talk about life" at home...] Eugene left the Four Seasons Garden a little dispirited. 

"Lady Esford, I have returned." Just when Charlotte was about to return to her quarters, a woman dressed in white appeared in front of her.

"You're here. Does that mean, you found something?" Charlotte's demeanor immediately became serious. "Yes. The Siirto Family has been acting strangely lately. I've noticed that they kidnapped a small girl for some purpose. The First Elder was exceptionally thrilled." 

"Hmph, those lowlifes. I don't know what kind of evil scheme they're using the girl for, but they won't trick me." Charlotte ran up to her quarters and came out with a spatial ring on her finger. 

"I'm leaving. Notify Teacher about this some time later. I want her to see those people's true face." 

"Yes, Lady Esford." The white cloaked woman kneeled and left just as mysteriously as she appeared. "Salt City. Siirto Family. Just you wait, your evil schemes won't succeed!"


	104. Chapter 104

Salt City was seated on the western region of the Barber Kingdom. The spacious large roads that led to and from it caused it to become a place one must pass through in order to head to the western region of the kingdom from it's central region. 

The position that it occupied was quite fortunate. Therefore, this city that was known as the largest one in the western region of the Brabet Kingdom was heavily guarded by the kingdom all year round.

Within Salt City, other than the kingdom’s strength, the strongest one was naturally the destination of Noah’s journey, the Siirto Family!

Due to the overbearing monopoly of the Siirto Family, nearly sixty percent of the property in Salt City belonged to the Siirto Family. 

The profits from each year, even after deducting the large wealth needed to pay the necessary taxes and those needed to ease relationships, were enough to make the Siirto Family increasingly fat.

A large tree was prone to the wind but with the backing of the enormous monster called Four Seasons Garden, even high ranking noble families would not easily find trouble with the Siirto Family. 

Therefore, by developing on like this without any worries, the strength known as the Siirto Family seemed to have become the overlord of Salt City. 

Were it not for the three other noble families in the western region keeping it in check, the strength of the Siirto Family would have expanded to the other big cities.

Even with the other three families hindering it's development, these few years, the Siirto Family had been able to begin to steadily suppress the other three families relying on it's strong backing, just like an overlord being at the top.

Noah was now wearing his white cloak, and under it, he changed his appeareance to a middle aged man with a scar across his face. He looked rather vicious and mysterious now.

He was now following the queue as he slowly headed into the interior of the city. “Ugh, what grandeur. The Siirto Family is indeed the largest family in Salt City.” 

While he was queuing, the few men wearing mercenary uniforms in front of Noah began to converse amongst themselves, perhaps as a result of boredom.

“Today appears to be the birthday of the First Elder of the Siirto Family. I heard that not only did the many strengths in this region hurry over to congratulate him, but the Four Seasons Garden had also sent someone over.”

“Oh? You mean that powerful all female sect has also sent someone over? This Fist Elder has great prestige.” “Pu, the Siirto Family may be large but in the eyes of the Four Seasons Garden, what are they?" One of the mercenaries spit in disdain.

If it were not for the Siirto Family paying that large tribute to Four Seasons Garden every year, they, with their horizon, would never lower themselves to be in contact with the Siirto Family.” 

As he talked, the mercenary looked over at a nearby hill. On the hill, a fortress stood tall, seemingly unbreakable and towering the skies. Along with hatred, a small feeling of fear also crept on his face.

"Hey, when will there be another full moon?" The mercenary asked his friend. "Hmm, I think today? Why do you ask?" His friend looked a little surprised. "Shit. Shit! Dammit to hell!" The mercenary suddenly began cursing under his breath.

"Hey, what is it?" His friend asked, only to be silenced. "Listen, today we're staying at the inn and are not leaving the room for a moment, you hear me?" Looking at his friend's surprised face, the mercenary silently whispered to him.

"If we're out during the full moon, the Siirto Family will "clean us up", you hear me?" Noah left the two mercenaries once he heard enough. 

He dived into the shadows and decided to approach the Siirto Family castle. On the towering walls, there were guards defending every ten meters. 

In some of the gaps, Noah was able to barely see sharp arrow blades flickering with a thick cold glow under the sunlight.

Noah’s mana sense swept across the fortress. He could sense that in the air above the fortress, there were over ten sight blockades placed without any blind spots. 

Anyone who wanted to enter from the sky would likely be immediately shot by the countless arrows hidden in the dark areas. There were also some Paragon Rank Mages patrolling the walls every ten minutes. 

Noah decided to wait and strike at night. He believed that the perfect chance would come once the First Elder was preoccupied with Sarah, which would allow him an opportunity at a sneak attack.

Another reason for waiting just woke up. "Ah, Your Highness." Noah bowed to the small seven-colored snake that was now flying in front of him. Just like before, the snake was looking at Noah's hand with expectation in it's eyes.

Without further ado, Noah cut his palm and respectfully presented the blood to the seven-colored small snake. At the same time, he emptied his mind and began recovering as much mana as he could to compensate for the snake's food.

After some time, the small snake satisfyingly yawned and went to sleep, coiling around Noah's arm. [I still ended up losing a lot, I'm left at 50% mana now...] 

Noah decided to make a small bunker under ground and wait for the full moon to come out as he recovered his mana.

......

Siirto Family, at night. An old man with a thick moustache looked at the rising moon. "Has everything been prepared?" A servant kneeled on the floor and replied in a respectful voice. "Yes, First Elder. The girl is chained up, and the tools have been prepared." 

"Hehe, excellent. Make sure that no one approaches the basement. Even if they are from the Siirto Family, kill them." The old man cackled evily like a ghost.

"Yes, First Elder. But, what about Four Seasons Garden? I'm afraid that they've begun to suspect us of doing things like this. And the extermination of that Desert Metal Mercenary Company..." 

"Hmph, who cares about them? The Sand Mercenary Company should succeed soon. Also, relay to our members to get rid of the Sand Mercenary Company later as well. We can't leave loose ends behind." The First Elder replied in an indifferent voice.

"Yes, First Elder." The servant bowed once again before excusing himself and leaving. "I'll soon breakthrough to General Rank. And if I tame a General Rank monster with that girl's eyes, then even that Four Seasons Garden Sect Leader won't be able to stop me." 

The old man seemed to have remembered an embarrassing memory, which caused him to frown. "I've been spending years flattering those sluts just to gain some small amount of help. The amount of resources I wasted every year..." 

“Hmph. Four Seasons Garden, just you wait. Sooner or later, my Siirto Family will make you vomit up all the things that you have eaten!” In the dark room, the old man’s face twitched as a savageness faintly seeped out.

The old man stomped on the floor angrily. "When I have those eyes, nevermind the Four Seasons Garden, I'll take over the whole Brabet Kingdom! I just have to kill the Royal Family, and I will become the new ruler! Never again will I be undermined by anyone!" 

A vicious smile formed on his face. "And that Sect Leader, she doesn't look too bad... I guess I can keep her alive as my personal servant, hehehehe...." 

The First Elder walked out of his quarters and went to the basement in a happy mood. The halls of the Siirto Family were empty. No one dared to get in his way.

......

"Noah my friend, who do I need to kill now?" Niolo flew out of the demonic spellbook and looked around. Noah was standing on one of the fortress walls, surrounded by corpses of the guards, of which there were a few Paragon Rank Mages.

"Niolo, I'm going after the First Elder. He's at peak Officer Rank. I believe that if I'm given a chance, I can kill him with a sneak attack. I'll leave the rest of the Siirto Family members to you." 

"Should I just kill them, or can I do something else?" Niolo looked at Noah with a yearning expression. "I don't care what you do, but they all have to die. You're not allowed to leave a single one alive." 

"Hahahahah, Noah my friend, you really know how to make a demon enjoy himself. Alright, I'll make some great art tonight! Also, you wouldn't mind if I shared some of my happiness with the entirety of this city?" 

"Do what you want, but if you bring the Church here while I'm here, trust me, you'll be begging me to hand you over to them in the end." Noah replied with a smile.

"Sure, sure." Niolo shuddered. "Then, let's do it when we're leaving, ok?" Noah nodded and left his own way. He was Soulsearching guards around the fortress and releasing his mana sense. 

[So, she's in the basement. Looks like the First Elder has to wait for the full moon to come out if he wants to transplant Sarah's eyes to himself.] Suddenly, a peculiar and familiar person entered Noah's mana sense.

A young woman who looked to be in her early twenties was carefully moving about inside the fortress. She held a a sword in her hand, and a small pearl in the other. 

Occasionally, she would rub the pearl in her hand, which would then release white gas that would knock out the guards around her, allowing her to move about unhindered.

[That girl is the princess of the Esford Family, and the future Sect Leader of Four Seasons Garden, Charlotte Esford! What is she doing here?] Noah remembered the girl vividly.

The girl herself wasn't that important, actually. She was just a stepping stone for one of the heroes of the current Era, the genius Alchemist Callum Martyr!

It was said that Charlotte Esford broke her engagement with Callum, who was at the time a sick boy in a wheelchair, insulting his family in the process. 

This eventually backfired on her, as Callum became a future undisputed God of the Alchemist Guild, the only Alchemist in existence to be able to brew Legendary Grade potions!

By that time, the Martyr Family rose to prominence and became one of the greatest families on the continent, while Charlotte never achieved anything grand to be remembered for. In the end, it was rumored that she died in one of her sect trials.

[One ended up with a harem of women and eternal glory, while the other died as a nobody.] Noah then smiled. [But, if I take this chance and meddle a bit, the ending will be quite different from before...]

With a light laugh, Noah followed behind Charlotte in the direction of the Siirto Family basement.


	105. Chapter 105

In the darkness of the night, one figure stealthily moved through the Siirto Family fortress, looking for the basement. [How strange. There are no more guards around.]

Charlotte looked around anxiously. She suddenly found herself alone in the empty halls of the fortress. There was no one around. Thanks to the silence, Charlotte could hear her own heartbeat echoing in her ears.

[Where could they have gone? I thought that there should at least be someone left... Could it be, am I falling in a trap?] As Charlotte mused to herself, a blood curdling scream suddenly echoed throughout the empty fortress halls.

[That scream... Is the First Elder responsible for this?!] Charlotte felt her back being drenched in cold sweat. She remembered that the person caught this time was a little girl. 

Fearing for the worst, Charlotte hurried her steps as the grip on her sword intensified. [First Elder, you monster! I'll never forgive you!] The screams soon multiplied, further raising the girl's fear of the unknown.

[Looks like Niolo is having quite the time.] At the same time, not far behind Charlotte, Noah was stealthily moving about and killing any guard who approached.

The attacked guards didn't even know what hit them before their lives were reaped from the shadows. [Although, I have to say, this girl is rather slow. I'll just go in front and wait for her there.]

As Noah was about sink in the shadows, the fortress suddenly began shaking. He could also hear faint banging sounds echoing from underground like heartbeats.

Without wasting a moment, he disappeared into the shadows and hurried down to the basement door. At the same time, inside the Siirto Family basement, a small girl was chained up and completely immobilized.

"D-don't come over! Don't come over!" The girl's screams reverberated through the basement as she looked teary eyes at an old man with a scalpel in his hand.

In front of her stood her familiar, the giant double headed snake monster, whose sheer size caused the basement ceiling to cave in. The First Elder didn't mind that, however. 

He looked at the crying girl with a vicious smile on his face. "Little girl, you woke up quite quickly. That's quite a feat, I admit. But, it's pointless, hehehehe..." In his hand, the old man waved around a scalpel.

"Now now, don't struggle. Just be a good girl and this will all be over soon, I promise." With a laugh, he approached the chained Sarah, completely ignoring the snake monster in front of him.

"N-no! Save me!" As Sarah shouted, the snake monster hissed furiously, attacking the First Elder. "Oh please, with how weakened you are, you can barely attack a Paragon Rank Mage, not to mention me." 

He easily flung the snake monster away as if he was swatting a fly. "Be a good creature and don't stand in my way." The snake monster immediately got up and attacked again. It couldn't ignore Sarah's order.

"Ah, I originally wanted to let you live so that you can serve me, but since you're so protective of your current owner, then I will fulfill your death wish today..." The First Elder nonchalantly spoke as he attacked the snake monster.

One of his hands suddenly changed shape into a blade surrounded by disgusting purple flesh, and with a single strike, he cut off the both of the snake monster's heads. The body of the dead monster fell on the ground lifelessly, spewing blood everywhere.

"Cough!" With a violent cough, Sarah vomited blood out of her mouth as she fell unconscious, her eyes rolling back into her skull. The First Elder looked at the girl and laughed.

"Oh, because your pet got damaged, you fainted due to the backlash? Well, that's fine." He grabbed Sarah by the chin and put the scalpel right above her eye. "Actually, I would do the same in your position, hehehe..." 

Just as the First Elder was about to stab at her with a scalpel, an explosion rocked the basement! The ceiling collapsed, and a female figure dropped down. "First Elder Gilbert, stop!" 

With a swift attack, the female figure destroyed the scalpel in the First Elder's hand. Moving like the wind, she destroyed the chains that restrained Sarah, picking her up into her arms.

"I've heard a long time ago that Siirto Family has been doing illegal things behind Four Seasons Garden's back, but I can't believe you were actually this inhumane!" The First Elder Gilbert now finally saw this unknown intruder.

[Sect Leader's private disciple, Charlotte Esford?! What is she doing here? What are those imbecilic guards doing?] Taken aback and being looked at with animosity, Gilbert had to somehow salvage the situation.

He immediately ran up to Charlotte's side with a frightened expression on his face. "Miss, please listen to my explanation! It isn't like this..." Charlotte placed the unconcious Sarah on a nearby table and looked at the old man with disgust.

"Stop making excuses, I've personally seen the matter today! Just wait until I go back and report to Teacher, see how she'll deal with scum like you!" The First Elder's eyes became bloodshot.

"Ah, no! You mustn't let the Sect Leader know! Or maybe..." Suddenly, the previously scared old man changed his demeanor completely, as he ruthlessly punched Charlotte in the stomach. 

"Maybe, if you were to die here, Four Seasons Garden wouldn't know..." Charlotte flew into the wall, making spider web like cracks as she puked blood from her mouth.

"Aah, so satisfying..." Gilbert looked at her pitiful appeareance and roared with laughter. "Cough! Y-you... First Elder Gilbert, do you understand what you just did? Are you going against Four Seasons Garden?" Charlotte coughed up blood from impact as she tried to get up.

"Hmph, your training talent is extraordinary, you're young and beautiful, and you're also the Sect Leader's private disciple. Every time I saw you, you had that annoying expression, as if you didn't put anyone in your eyes." The old man grabbed Charlotte by the throat and began choking her.

"Hahaha, but what does it matter now? You're still just a pitiful small Paragon Rank! Killing you is easy as stomping on a bug!" Gilbert laughed as he tightened his grip on Charlotte's throat.

Then, he threw Charlotte into the wall again, deepening the hole in the wall. *Smack!* He followed that up with a few kicks to her head. "So, how does it feel now, miss Charlotte? Are you embarrassed, having a lowly little me stepping on your head?" 

Gilbert asked in with a laugh. "H... Hmph, this is nothing! Strikes from a bastard like you are like mosquito bites!" Charlotte replied disdainfully. "Ooh?" The malicious smile on the old man's face deepened.

*Smack smack smack smack!* Gilbert spent the next fifteen minutes stepping on and kicking Charlotte into the wall of the basement. "Aah, this is so relaxing... What do you say, miss Charlotte?" "Guh... Uh... Fuh..." 

Despite being ruthlessly kicked into the wall and stepped on, the First Elder still noticed that the disdainful look was still present in Charlotte's eyes. "Hmm..." A vein popped on the old man's forehead.

"I know!" Suddenly, he got an excellent idea. "If you can't be broken this way, then instead of killing you, how about keeping you alive to "service" the young family members? I wonder, will we get descendants with talent as good as yours?" 

For the first time, the First Elder noticed a little bit of fear in Charlotte's eyes, and this pleased him greatly. He picked her up by the throat again and laughed in her face.

"You... Bastard! Four Seasons Garden... Will never... Forgive you!" Charlotte's threat didn't affect Gilbert in any way. "Hahahahah, who cares about Four Seasons Garden! It is just a mere stepping stone for me when I rule the Brabet Kingdom!" 

"Hmph, you... Delusional... Fool. The Sect Leader is... On the way here." "What?" The First Elder looked at the smugly smiling Charlotte with bewilderment. "What did you say?" 

"When I... Left the sect... I left behind a message... For the Sect Leader..." Charlotte responded. Gilbert's eyes shrunk to the size of a pin-hole. "You... You damn slut!" *Bam!* He punched Charlotte right in her face, knocking out a few teeth. 

"Shit! How dare you ruin my plans, you disgusting bitch! Fine then, I can use you as a hostage. And hostages don't really need limbs, only their lives." Gilbert pulled Charlotte up by the throat, and his left hand again transformed into a grotesque blade surrounded by purple flesh.

Just as Gilbert was prepared to slice off Charlotte's arm, he noticed a shadow creep behind him. *Splurt!* In the next moment, Gilbert felt a sharp piercing pain through his rib cage. 

A hand was now sticking out where his heart was supposed to be, holding his still beating heart. "Uughhrrll..." Gilbert tried to say something, but only the gurgling of blood was heard from his mouth. 

*Pow!* The hand squeezed his heart, and with a popping sound, blood and bits of Gilbert's heart flew everywhere. "Ghhurghl..." A few moments later, Gilbert's eyes rolled up into his skull.

After Gilbert fell on the floor, his body began spasming, and after a while his entire body changed into a disgusting purple colored abomination. 

He had the legs of an antilope, bat wings on his back, arms replaced with blades, spikes that portuded from his shoulders, and most of all, bloodshot eyes all over his body. He looked more like a demon than a human.

Above the disgusting corpse stood a silent figure in a white cloak. His gaze swept over the beaten and battered Charlotte to the unconcious Sarah. 

Charlotte looked at the figure, puzzled of it's identity. She was certain that it wasn't someone from Four Seasons Garden. "Cough... Thank you for saving..." She didn't finish her words as the figure threw three potions at her and left to Sarah.

Charlotte eyed the three red colored potions in her hands. [These are... Healing potions?] She corked open one of them and gulped the red liquid down her throat. *Sizzle* A warm feeling spread throughout her body, and Charlotte felt all of her pain disappear.

[These are middle grade potions?!] Looking at the speed of her wounds healing, Charlotte threw the mysterious figure a bewildered glance before rearraging her messy and dirty clothes.

[Who is this person...] Although she had some questions for this mysterious character, she stayed quiet and decided to wait. The figure was evidently here for the little girl that was now lying unconscious on a table.

[Fascinating.] Noah looked at Sarah's condition thoroughly. What he figured out was that she was only unconscious due to shock caused by the death of her familiar. After some time, she would be perfectly fine.

This cleared out Noah's last condition. Indeed, Sarah did not die upon the death of her familiar. This was unpredecended! [I have to have this ability.] A flame of desire burned in Noah's eyes.

Unfortunately, he wasn't alone in this basement. If he was, he would most likely just transplant Sarah's eyes to himself right away. [I don't know if the World Will is still going to keep meddling. I should make some precautions.]

Noah took out an epruvete and sliced at Sarah's skin to collect some of her blood. Next, he cut off some of Sarah's hair and stored it. 

[Now that that's done with, I should...] Suddenly, Noah's thoughts were interrupted by a terrifying pressure that settled on the Siirto Family fortress. "Is this... Teacher?" As Charlotte was wondering to herself, she suddenly fell unconscious.

Noah looked around the basement. He too smelled a sweet fragrance that reminded him of apples. He looked around; throughout the basement, there were vines protruding from all of the walls! "This is... A General Rank Mage?"


	106. Chapter 106

In a big hall room of the Siirto Family, a voice of a man was heard coming from inside. "Hmm, a little to the left." Although it sounded like a normal man's voice, if one entered the hall room, they would be terrified. "A little to the right this time." 

The whole room was completely dyed red. The dim lighting from the crystal lamps gave off a crimson light as it reflected the color of blood. The room permeated a nauseating stench of corpses and insides. 

There were two eye catching things inside the room. One was a small mountain of corpses and different organs, while the other one was a small collection of flesh dolls that stood in the middle of the room.

The dolls were made out of various limbs of all the different Siirto Family members. They were each made with a pose in mind; there was a "pet" doll, a "man" doll, a "woman" doll and a small "child" doll.

They were all positioned to form a picture of a happy family. "Not bad." Niolo looked at the flesh dolls in front of him with a thoughtful expression. Next to the flying demon soul stood four figures, all of them wearing torn Mage robes and cloaks.

Their appearances barely resembled their past human forms. They were all grotesquely mutated in different ways, such that one of them had wings and a mouth in place of eyes, the other was a small giant with vicious claws instead of hands, and one of them was nothing more than a moving whirlpool of tentacles with a despairing human head.

Currently, they were arranging the flesh dolls the way Niolo ordered them in silence. They didn't dare to make even a grunt out of instinctual fear of angering their creator. 

"Alright, I like it. As a reward, you can be let out outside the fortress when I tell you to, understand?" The lesser demons all showed their understanding in their own ways. "Now then, I guess I'll join my dear friend-" Suddenly, Niolo felt strong pressure descend on the Siirto Family fortress.

"This is... Someone of my level of strength? I gotta hurry to Noah then!" The demon soul flew off out of the room, leaving behind the lesser demons to wait. 

At the same time, the basement ceiling was completely dug out by the rapidly growing vines, revealing the night sky outside. A full Moon shined down on the Siirto Family fortress, allowing Noah to see the person who did this.

What he first saw, however, surprised him. It was a flying snake type monster. It's body was extremely huge and completely dark black. Amidst the dark black, there were numerous bright lines that formed strange patterns.

On the two sides of the huge serpent’s body there were actually eight black wings that carried traces of purple. On it's head there was a dark black spiral patterned horn as a faint purple glow flashed on the tip of the horn. 

Clearly, it concealed a lethal poison. Faint bright colored lines on it's head vaguely formed a crown shape. Within the triangular shaped eyes, it did not have a beast-like character. Instead, it was filled with the shrewdness and cunningness, like a human.

On top of the flying huge serpent's head stood a woman dressed in a green Mage cloak with a veil on her face. 

Noah observed the two newcomers. [A General Rank Mage and a General Rank monster. They most likely have a contract. And I'm willing to bet that the reason why they're here is...]

Noah didn't need to keep wondering for long, as the woman opened her mouth to speak. "You said that you felt a familiar presence here?" The monster serpent sniffed around a little before nodding.

"Indeed. It's here. What, are you doubting my searching ability?" The serpent spoke in a deep voice. "Hah, of course not. A perverted snake like you is perfect for searching for our brethren." The woman replied with a small laugh.

"Hmph, ungrateful woman. How dare you treat me like this? Do you know who I am? I am-" "“Alright, enough of your nonsense. If we were to overstay our welcome here, it would be troublesome if some powerhouse were to hurry over.” The green clothed woman said.

"Ok, I know. What an annoying woman..." The serpent swung his enormous tail slightly and immediately said somewhat regretfully. 

“But how unfortunate. Originally, I wanted to find Queen Medusa to have a competition. Who would have thought that her evolution actually failed. Ah, such a beautiful woman. It was clear that she appeared just for this emperor.”

“Oh please, stop having such romantic thoughts. Have you forgotten the terrible state that she beat you into the last time?” The green clothed woman rolled her eyes and helplessly said.

“Heh, I love her violence.” The serpent shook his huge head and laughed loudly, before finally noticing Noah and looking at him with a stunned face. "Hey, old hag, looks like you missed one. He's still awake." 

"What? I thought I got all of them..." The woman now also noticed Noah looking at them in silence. "Well, nevermind. Little Officer, I suggest that you don't do something stupid that you might regret. I didn't come here to kill people, but that might change quickly." 

In response, Noah bowed in respect to each of them, before standing aside and just observing. "You're smart." The woman nodded. "Oh, is that her?" She now noticed the unconcious Sarah lying on a table nearby.

After a few whiffs, the black serpent nodded. "Indeed. I smell something familiar on her." "Hurry up, take her and let's leave." On the woman's order, the huge serpent's tail gently coiled around Sarah's body, picking her up and giving her to the woman.

The veiled woman gently and caringly hugged Sarah. "Ah, another one of us. I always enjoy finding new members for our pavilion." As she was talking, a gust of wind flapped her cloak, allowing Noah to see a symbol sown on it.

It was a symbol of a temple and a big snake above it. [The Snake Pavilion of the Forbidden Lands.] Noah immediately recognized who these two were. 

[The World Will must really not want me to gain Sarah's eyes to the point that she's actually taking her to the other end of the continent.]

"Hurry up and go now. This is a rather big city, the kingdom forces definitely called someone to come here." The black serpent nodded and began flying in a certain direction. Noah, who was left behind, thought of something.

"I guess I do have one last option." He checked the mana in his soul orb. "80%. It'll be enough." Noah bit his fingers and began drawing runes on the floor. With every rune, he lost more and more mana in his soul orb.

In the end, he drew a small magic formation with his blood. Then, he pulled out Sarah's hair that he took before and placed it into the middle of the small formation. 

"Sarah, I, Noah Wimbeldon, swear to the starry sky, I'll find you wherever you are, no matter if you're at the end of the world or deep in the void. You will never escape my eyes, even if Hell and Heaven take your soul." After Noah finished the oath, a lightning struck in the sky.

The blood red magic formation enveloped Sarah's hair in the middle and inscribed the runes on it. It then shined in a golden light, before shooting off in the direction of the black serpent and the veiled woman.

This was the Eternal Search Curse of the ancient Demonic Blood Sect! 

From now on, Noah would sense Sarah's presence forever. Even if Sarah's soul somehow exited her body and reincarnated or even if it escaped to a different space, Noah would still find it. This was the fearsome power of the Eternal Search Curse.

At the same time, over two hundred kilometers away, the veiled woman noticed a small golden light shooting in their direction. In fact, it was coming right at them. 

"What's that?" The woman found it weird how she didn't feel any killing intent behind the golden light. Nevertheless, she and the black serpent put up their shields. 

However, what they didn't expect was that the golden light simply fazed through the shields as if they didn't exist at all. In a blink, it stuck itself on Sarah's unconscious body. "Tracking magic? Who was it, I wonder?" 

The veiled woman asked herself, but then shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I have my ways of getting rid of tracking magics." 

After Noah finished with casting the Eternal Search Curse, he turned around and noticed Niolo flying behind him. "Yo, Noah my friend, looks like you didn't need my help after all." 

"So you were here the whole time?" Noah asked. He was too preoccupied with the Eternal Search Curse do he didn't check his surroundings. 

"Indeed. I was ready to take action any moment in case you were attacked. Thankfully, that wasn't necessary. Now then, are we leaving?" 

"Yes. We have nothing else to do here. We're going to the capital now." Noah replied. "Oh? Why the capital?" Niolo asked. "You can take it as a bit of a payback against the World Will, I guess. I'm going to kill someone." 

"Ooohh, we're going to have a lot of fun in the future, aren't we, Noah my friend?" A vicious smile formed on Niolo's face. It only intensified once Noah nodded in confirmation. "I'm going to do a lot of things in the future." 

As the two were leaving, Niolo suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, I left those lesser demons in the hall room. Can I release them now, Noah my friend?" "Sure, just warn them not to touch that girl. She'll be important in the future." 

Noah nonchalantly answered as he pointed to the sleeping Charlotte on the side. "Hehe, fine by me!" Niolo laughed and sent a telepathic message to the lesser demons he left behind previously.

A few moments later, a couple of explosions echoed as the lesser demons broke apart the fortress walls in their way to Salt City houses. 

Hearing the explosions, the concerned citizens and city guards came outside to inspect what happened.

"Is Siirto Family responsible for this? Oh dear Goddess, what are those?!" Once the citizens saw the rampaging and disgusting abominations rushing towards them, panic ensued as they hid back in their houses.

"Notify the headquarters! Monsters, no, demons are attacking!" A city guard captain shouted out as he led a bunch of Paragon Rank Warriors to attack the incoming demons.

"Groooaarr!!" The small giant roared crazily as it smashed apart everything in it's rage, picking up the city guards and tearing their limbs off. "This demon, he's an Officer Rank?! We can't handle this! Send for reinf-aaargh!" 

The screaming city guard captain was torn in two by the giant demon, his insides dropping out right into the demon's mouth. With a slurp, the demon licked it's lips before grabbing another person that was close to it.

At the same time, the flying demon with wings screeched as it's whole body suddenly grew many small arms and eyes, completely losing it's human appearance. 

It threw itself at the houses, breaking them apart in search of the citizens hiding inside. Once it found someone, it would ruthlessly grab them and, with it's extreme quantity of arms, would tear out every part of their body and eat them. 

"The eyes! The eyes in my brain! They see you! They see all of you!!!" The moving whirlpool of tentacles wrapped itself around anything living it found before plunging the tentacles into any opening it could find, using them to suck out it's prey's organs and blood.

At the same time, the despairing human head would let out blood curdling screams as it rocked back and forth. 

"Geez, what a bunch of drama queens." Niolo shook his head helplessly with a laugh as both of them disappeared into the shadows of the night.


	107. Chapter 107

In an underground bunker, Noah, who was seated cross-legged on the floor, gradually opened his eyes. "Full recovery." After spending an entire night of running, Noah built a bunker for himself to recover the mana he lost from the Eternal Search Curse.

Right now, he opened the ground above him and exited. He was now in the woods, a night away from Salt City. The warm sunlight shined on the ground, and Noah took out some food for himself to eat.

Suddenly, a cold smooth thing coiled around his hand. Being twined around by this cold smooth thing, Noah immediately recognized what it was. He pulled aside his sleeve. 

A small cute looking seven-colored snake was seen twining around his arm. Seeming to sense the light being shined upon it, it lifted it's long neck. It's pale-purple snake eyes stared blankly at Noah. 

A moment later, an affection surfaced within the snake’s eyes and it used it's head to rub against Noah’s arm. Noah's eyes watched this seven-colored snake. Due to it's evolution, it's seven-colored body which he noticed had become a much deeper color compared to before. 

When he saw the extremely human-like affection in it's eyes, Noah found it a little interesting. Solemness and respect showed on his face, although he didn't feel it.

He carefully carried the seven-colored small snake with both hands. “Your Highness, you have woken up at an excellent time. I have just replenished my mana." He said in a soft voice.

Realizing what Noah was saying, the pale-purple eyes of the seven-colored snake immediately became bright. It's tail repeatedly rubbed against Noah as it's mouth emitted urgent hissing entreating sounds.

Seeing that the temptation of his mana had grown instead of weakened, Noah sighed in relief. 

If it were not for the lucky fact that he possessed the kind of food the small snake liked, it was likely that it would be much more difficult for him to have any intimate relationship with it.

Noah cut his palm and let it flood with his blood. He then kneeled down like a knight would to his king as he offered his blood to the small snake. "Your Highness, please." 

However, an intense glow suddenly surged out from the small snake's body. After which, the stunned Noah instinctively narrowed his eyes.

The glow flashed and disappeared. However, the instant after the glow appeared, Noah’s face suddenly changed drastically. This was because he could clearly sense that the body of the seven-colored snake was continuously becoming bigger. 

Noah appeared to have remembered something. Immediately, his expression became extremely ugly. Without wasting a moment, he launched himself away from the small snake, running through the woods.

"Niolo, come out quickly." Niolo heard Noah's alarmed voice and sprung up outside expecting a fight. However, seeing that Noah was running away from something, Niolo was puzzled. "Noah my friend, what is it? What's got you so alarmed?" 

"Look behind you." As Noah answered, Niolo noticed a the glowing seven-colored snake's body. "Oh no. Run, Noah my friend, run!!" A few moments later, the glow ended, and Noah felt a strong suction force pull him backwards.

No matter how he resisted, it was useless. In the end, he was pulled back and grabbed by the throat violently. He saw a pair of bright golden eyes filled with anger and watching him somewhat icily.

Eyeing that perfect pretty face that was rated at a bewitching level, all the hairs on Noah’s body stood up as though he had been struck by lightning. 

It was Queen Medusa, and she now looked younger, like a woman in her early twenties. Her snake tail was replaced by two slender pale legs. 

Noah's eyes watched the face in his immediate vicinity dully. This appearance that was called bewitching was like the masterpiece of nature. 

Even though this pair of bright eyes contained an evilness, it was still difficult for them to hide her enchanting charm.

This woman was a stunning creature straight from almost every man’s dream. Noah stared blankly at Queen Medusa. A moment later, the corner of his mouth curled upwards as Noah smiled respectfully.

"Your Highness, it appears that you've awoken. I hope you can excuse my lack of manners as a lower Ranked Mage, but I am currently stuck in a rather troublesome position... Ah, would you perhaps like to dress yourself first?" 

The bright eyes which were still filled with anger stared at Noah coldly. When she realized what Noah was hinting at, a shallow crimson color flew onto Queen Medusa pretty face. However, a thick killing aura was also emitted by her.

Queen Medusa’s eyes moved slightly and glanced at Noah’s hand which was currently bleeding. Immediately, her long eyes narrowed slightly. An instant later, she violently bit down with her silver teeth.

Noah didn't have any reaction to his hand being bitten. He really couldn't do anything even if he struggled, as Queen Medusa's hand was still firmly grabbing his neck. The threatening glare from that pair of beautiful eyes was extremely fierce.

Being grabbed by Queen Medusa, Noah became helpless. he could only submit and relax his body. Immediately, two round soft treasures pressed onto him at his chest. 

Noah suppressed the revolting feeling he felt from surfacing on his face. His body was straight as he pressed on Queen Medusa’s soft lovely body. Their faces faced each other and their breathing could be clearly heard.

As Queen Medusa bit Noah’s hand, bright red blood slowly colored the red sleek lips. Blood added to the redness and the vivid color caused the bewitching Queen Medusa to have a little more of a bloody rose like allure.

As the blood slowly seeped out, Noah’s expression changed slightly. This was because after she had completely absorbed the mana from his soul orb, Queen Medusa actually had no intention of opening her mouth. 

Her long pretty eyes carried a cold laughter as she glanced at him. She gently sucked and Noah felt the rest of his mana being sucked out. Evidently, Queen Medusa was trying to suck out all of his mana and kill him!

"Well now... Looks like Your Highness is still not satisfied, haha." Noah lightly laughed. Queen Medusa did not have the spare time to bother about Noah. 

Her eyes carried a mocking expression as the delicate hand she used to grab Noah’s neck tightened slightly. Immediately, Noah’s face became a little flush.

[At this point, she'll really kill me. But, I'm not the type to die so easily...] Noah emptied his mind completely, absorbing the mana from his surroundings. His eyes became hazy as they stared into nothing.

Queen Medusa’s expression involuntarily changed slightly. She noticed that the soul orb that she previously sucked clean began filling up with mana again. Finding this strange, she continued sucking it away.

Ten minutes later, Queen Medusa's eyes showed her great surprise. Even now, the young man in front of her was still somehow recovering mana in his soul orb. The thing that shocked her even more was that, the amount slowly grew despite her constant sucking.

Nevertheless, she didn't give up and continued sucking. She believed that no matter what kind of method this despicable human in front of her was using, he wouldn't be able to use it forever.

The stalemate continued. Another hour later, Queen Medusa finally could not absorb anymore mana as she was full. She ferociously cut Noah with her eyes before releasing her mouth with extreme unwillingness.

She tore off Noah's cloak and covered her naked body with it as she threw him on the floor. A few moments later, Noah's eyes regained clearness, and he sat on the floor. On a nearby rock, he could see the curvaceous figure of the beautiful female snake seated nakedly on it.

Sensing Noah’s gaze, Queen Medusa’s face became slightly cold. Her delicate hand pulled the cloak by the side and swiftly covered her body. Even though her mesmerising curve was covered by the cloak, it still appeared extremely enchanting. 

On the side of the rock, a previously unseen pale-purple colored snake tail was gently lowered. It swayed slightly and emitted a wild allure. 

Noah didn't even look at Queen Medusa as he cleaned his hand of the blood. “You are the first person who has dared to survive when I wanted them dead.” 

After staring at Noah for a while, Queen Medusa finally opened her mouth slowly. Her voice was numb and lazy, possessing a temptation that caused a man’s bone to become numb.

“You are also the first woman to bite me, Your Highness.” Noah replied with a laugh.

Queen Medusa extended her delicate and bright red tongue and gently licked her red sleek lips. Her casual action had a captivation that cause men’s hearts to feel impulsive. "How did you do that? I have never seen such fast mana recovery in my life." 

"Haha, every Mage has their own secret, Your Highness included. This is merely my own." Noah coughed dryly. "What happened with the Heavenly Flame? Who took it?" Queen Medusa asked, and Noah shook his head. "It was destroyed. In the end, the Medicine King left with nothing." 

“Hooh, I see. It's just a shame that, in order to evolve, the misery that I had to bear is something that you witnessed.” Queen Medusa said faintly. “If it were not such a crucial moment back then, I would have personally killed you.”

"Ah, Your Highness is quite cruel." Noah merely laughed in return. “However… human, it must be said that you are really very bold…” Queen Medusa’s delicate finger gently pointed at Noah. 

A feminine aura surfaced on Queen Medusa’s face, Her numbing voice faintly carried a stern killing intent. 

“Not only did you dare to break into the deep regions of the desert by yourself but you even dared to treat the body of my evolution form as a pet and raise it. This courage is something that I haven’t seen in so many years.”

Sensing the killing intent in Queen Medusa’s words, Noah shrugged his shoulders and helplessly said. “I have never treated you as a pet to be raised. It is just that you like to follow me, that’s all there is.”

“Then do I need to to call you… Master?” The long eyes of Queen Medusa were bent into a dangerous angle. The last part of her voice was dragged into a somewhat elongated manner. 

"Your Highness, I must say, you are rather unjust. I don't care if you believe that all humans are horny monkeys, but I plead that you don't put me in the same category as them." This time, Noah answered in a serious voice. He wasn't smiling anymore. Seeing this, Queen Medusa raised her eyebrows a bit.

“Hmm, it's such a shame. The current me really doesn’t have the strength to kill you. However… during the next time that I awaken, trust me, I will… take, your, life!” 

Her delicate hands shakingly pointed at Noah as Queen Medusa slightly lifted her proud forehead. Her voice that spoke those words and that pause, contained a stern killing intent.

“Little despicable human, just wait. In this world, a person who has the right to be my master has not been born. At the very least, the current you is still far from having that privilege.” Queen Medusa’s body slowly creeped down. 

Immediately, the cloak that was wrapped around her body was compressed to reveal an attractive arc. An intense glow shot out. Queen Medusa’s body slowly shrunk, finally transforming into a small seven colored snake.

Eyeing the small seven-colored snake, Noah sat down on the floor. Only at this moment did he realize that he was actually already drenched in sweat. 

Clearly, although he wasn't scared, his body still felt instinctual fear at the presence of a strong predator. "Now I have to wash myself." He spoke in annoyance.

At the same time, Niolo slowly flew to Noah's side from the bushes. "Did... Did she go away?" He asked. "No, she just went to sleep I guess. But she can still hear you-" "Oh Fifi! I was so scared!" 

Niolo interrupted Noah mid sentence. He flew around the seven-colored snake while talking to it like it was a pet. "You'll protect uncle Niolo from that scary woman, right? Oh, while we're at it, can you tell me what her sizes are?" The snake looked at Niolo with annoyance.

Noah could also see a hint of viciousness and killing intent inside. [Yes, she's definitely going to kill us next time...] With a sigh, Noah finished his meal and looked for some place to bathe.


	108. Chapter 108

A few days later, Noah arrived at an another big city. This time, he was already in a new appearance as an old man with a thick black beard and sharp eyes. His iron token dangled from his neck, ensuring him an easy entry through the city gate.

Once inside, he didn't waste anymore time and hurried over to another flying transportation company at the center of the city. 

Thanks to his status as an alchemist, Noah expectedly and successfully boarded a luxurious flying monster bird dedicated to Alchemists. After which, he began to spend a good few days travelling through the endless skies. 

Noah crossed his legs and began recovering his constantly eaten mana, slowly and quietly waiting to reach his destination. During the period of the flight, Noah did not deal with any of the Alchemists travelling along with him. 

However, when they occasionally saw each other, Noah noticed that some of these Alchemists who were hurrying to the capital were actually not citizens of the Brabet Kingdom.

On one occasion, Noah also heard the words ‘Grand Meeting’ often spoken among the Alchemists. The Grand Meeting was a place where Alchemists trade with one another for any precious ingredient they might require.

It was also a place where strong forces would send their representatives in search of Alchemists to recruit, preferably young talents. 

Noah himself didn't really care about the Grand Meeting, however he decided to check it out once as it might have something interesting. He also had to go anyway as he was running short on ingredients.

As he waited, the flying bird that flew for nearly seven days finally and gradually arrived at it's destination, the capital of the Brabet Kingdom, Brabet Sacred City!

Standing on the back of the flying beast, Noah lowered his head to eye the magnificent city which had appeared under the clouds. 

Following the slow descent of the flying beast, Noah’s gaze suddenly turned toward the north of the capital. There, a huge mountain that was definitely very grand, prostrated like a huge behemoth, faintly emitted an aura that soared to the sky.

Located at that place was the huge power of the Brabet Kingdom, an all female sect, Four Seasons Garden!

[Four Seasons Garden... Charlotte Esford, I hope that you will not disappoint me...] Noah smiled as he thought about all the things that would change in the future because of him. 

He found a somewhat isolated street, and he removed the meat jelly artifact, revealing his true appearance. On the way to the Alchemist Grand Gathering, he heard many people talk about the event.

"Hey, do you think someone like the Medicine King might appear this year?" An old man with a brown beard asked his drinking buddy. "What? No way, don't be ridiculous." 

"Hmm, it would certainly be nice though." The old man stroked his beard. "Yeah, I still feel goosebumps from that day when he won the Alchemist competition as a thirty year old youngster. I feel like a person that can surpass him won't appear for a long time." His friend replied.

Noah remembered some information about the Medicine King from his previous life. The Medicine King was the largest black horse in the Alchemist Grand Meeting two sessions ago. 

Before that time, not many people knew him. Ever since he revealed his brilliance in the Grand Meeting, he caught the eye of the previous leader of the Four Seasons Garden. After which, he was invited to become an elder of Four Seasons Garden. 

Back then, the Medicine King was merely a middle grade Alchemist. However, during these years, with the huge wealth of the Four Seasons Garden behind him, his ability has risen to high grade.

[In the end, he gets beaten in Alchemy by Callum, who becomes the new champion of the Alchemist competition as a nineteen year old. Callum also ends up stealing the woman he loved away from him, and he later gets assassinated by someone.] 

Noah began thinking of a way to get the Medicine King on his side in some way. In the future, he planned on creating a huge faction, subsurvient to him. It would be excellent if he could have the Medicine King pump out potions for him then.

"Sigh... Unfortunately, using Callum would be a better choice, but since he's a chosen of the World Will, that's impossible. I have to settle for the next best thing then." 

As Noah mused to himself, he raised his head and eyed the huge building and the special symbol that appeared at the end of the street. 

He eyed the huge building that was like a bottomless pit, swallowing up the unceasing flow of people. His hands gently inserted into his sleeves as he walked inside. 

[The number one auction house on the continent, the Primer auction house of the Primer Family, one of the top noble families in the continent. Let's see what they have.]

After waiting for a while, Noah finally passed through the tightly packed door. Under the inspection of the sinister eagle like gazes of the guards at the main entrance, he calmly walked in.

Once he entered the auction house, a gentle light was poured over him. The noisiness outside seemed to have become isolated at this moment. It was only a distance of a few meters, but it was as though they were two worlds apart.

Noah slowly stopped his footsteps. His gaze swept everywhere, eyeing the enormous hall, which was like a crystal city.

In the interior of the hall, fully armed expressionless guards could be seen everywhere. On the chest of these guards, they wore the Primer Family badge. Clearly, they were the force directly under the Primer Family.

The moment when Noah entered the hall, he could sense at least twenty sharp gazes sweeping across every part of his body before the sharp and sinister gazes were slowly withdrawn.

There were countless crystal counters placed in the large hall. On one side of the counter, there was an unceasing flow of people. A countless number of rare items were placed on these counters. 

Under these items there were tags that stated their prices. However, all the prices of these items were at least thirty thousand gold coins. These expensive prices were sufficient to cause many ordinary people to be discouraged.

Noah didn't care about any item that cost gold. Such things were for ordinary people only. A Ranked Mage would never find anything interesting here, so they always go to the upper floors that are forbidden to ordinary people.

Noah was just about to leave upstairs when his gaze suddenly turned toward a corner of the hall. That place was a doorway for the upper echelons of the Primer Auction House. 

A moment ago, that place was still quiet. Seeing this sudden commotion, it appeared that there was a big shot who had quite a high status walking out from there.

Eyeing the disturbance of the crowd there, Noah blinked his eyes. He turned his head slightly and his gaze passed through those excited men who seemed like male wolves suddenly becoming passionate. 

After which, he faintly glanced at a somewhat red colored and blurry tender figure.

Lowering his gaze, Noah saw a pair of red colored long boots. The heel of the long boots was slightly sharp as it released waves of clear and sweet sounding ‘click-clack’, ‘click-clack’ sounds on the clear and shiny bluestone ground surface.

As the clear sound of footsteps moved closer, the beautiful lady who was surrounded by the crowd finally slowly walked out of it.

The lady was wearing a bright red colored tight dress. The elegant dress was gorgeously and meticulously made, precisely and perfectly outlining the beautiful curves of the lady. 

Under the dress were her dazzling long legs, causing people to feel a fiery impulse in their hearts. At the narrow waist that could be hugged with one arm, there was a bundle of silver colored belts that highlighted the narrow waist more vividly.

In the human crowd, the lady wearing a red colored gorgeous dress walked toward the hall with elegant footsteps. Her somewhat shallow smile and pretty face contained an unknown meaning behind it. 

The enchanting beauty appeared to have quite a great popularity. Since she had walked out until now, there had been people repeatedly smiling and greeting her. 

Perhaps some of these greetings were targeted at her beauty, but most of which were clearly because of their reverence to her status.

The gorgeously dressed lady elegantly and calmly handled the surrounding customers. Her superficial shallow smile severed those people who wanted to forcefully hit on her. 

A pair of eyes randomly swept across the hall. After anyone came into contact with this pair of eyes that seemingly contained a fascinating enticement, their throats would involuntarily roll slightly. A hot flame would combust and rise in the deep region of their eyes. 

[Isn't that the Primer Family's top auctioneer, the 'Money Demon' Isabella?] Noah looked at the woman with little surprise. This woman was pretty much the Primer Family's best asset for collecting money and mana crystals.

She's able to sell low grade products as if they're high grade. This naturally led to the Primer Family always dearly caring for her. [She's also one of Callum Martyr's wives in the future...]

Noah looked at the woman with an intrigued gaze. [The story of how Isabella and Callum met became quite famous as a romantic novel. I don't know if they already met at this time, maybe I should try my luck out...]

Noah went upstairs, passing by the crowd of people with Isabella at the center. What Noah didn't notice, was that Isabella's expression changed slightly once she noticed him.

On the second floor of the auction house, the room looked more grand and decorated than before. The items sold here were now only for Ranked Mages and Warriors. 

From weapons, artifacts, armor to potions, the Primer Family auction house had it all. Noah bought a couple of expensive ingredients, alongside more ingredients for his usual potions. 

"I would like to use the brewing room for two hours." Noah took out some middle grade mana crystals and handed them to a person on the counter. "Of course, sir. You will not be disturbed under any circumstances." 

The person on the counter accepted the crystals with a big smile on his face, before handing Noah a green colored card with a number carved on it. Noah then went to the corner of the room and showed the card to a guard.

With a nod, the guard took the card and moved aside, allowing Noah to open an ordinary wooden door behind him. The room inside wasn't too spacious. It had brewing equipment, a table and a chair. 

All the sounds from the outside immediately disappeared after Noah closed the door. Clearly, the room was infused with sound isolating spells. Noah didn't begin brewing immediately.

He released his mana sense and scanned every nook and cranny of the room. Although the chance of the Primer Family using these rooms to spy on the Alchemists inside was non-existent, it still wouldn't hurt to check.

Only after completely verifying that no monitoring spells were in place did Noah take out the newly bought ingredients and laid them on the table.

[Let's see, the equipment hasn't been tampered with, it's in good condition... Alright, I can use it. This was unplanned, but if it succeeds, I can potentially begin ruining Callum's life.]

Noah smiled. He knew exactly what potion he was going to brew. The same potion that Callum first invented by himself when he was just nineteen, the world famous Grine Water!


	109. Chapter 109

Grine Water, Callum Martyr's first known invention. Right around this time, Callum receives an epiphany and creates a potion the world has never seen before. 

The potion looks clear like ordinary water, and yet it allows an ordinary person to immediately break through to Paragon Rank!

Callum then auctions the potion, becoming famous and, in the process, gains the interest of the famous Primer Family auctioneer, Isabella. 

After his revenge for the humiliation caused by Charlotte, Callum officially breaks their engagement and pursues other girls, Isabella included.

This was the start of Callum's path to eternal glory. This is why Noah had to act now. If Callum succeeded in either auctioning Grine Water or winning the Alchemist competition, killing him would become many times harder. 

Noah poured distilled water into a small cauldron, properly heating up the water. He was following the recipe he knew to the letter. 

[First, the supplementary ingredients. A stalk of Rainbow Vine, a drop of Bull Horned Lizard's blood, ten fingers of the Mist Monkey monster...]

Noah perfectly handled all of the ingredients. In his hand, every ingredient would get properly purified to perfection before being added to the boiling distilled water in the cauldron. 

After he added all the supplementary ingredients, Noah didn't begin adding the main ingredients. Instead, he increased the temperature of the flame in his palm so that the liquid inside the cauldron began vaporising.

[This is it. The critical point.] Grine Water was different from other potions in a way that it defied the traditional way of Alchemy. 

Instead of immediately adding the main ingredients after the supplementary ones, Callum instead increased the temperature, lowering the amount of liquid in the cauldron while increasing the efficiency.

This simple act allowed Callum to avoid copycats for quite a lot of decades, before a stupid Mage accidentally got the same result and published it.

Only after half of the liquid inside the cauldron was gone did Noah begin to purify the main ingredients. Another half an hour later, the resulting liquid inside the cauldron looked no different than water. 

"It's done. Grine Water." Noah looked at the potion in his hand with a smile. He began thinking about what would happen if he truly released the potions on the market. 

"The strength of newly advanced Mages would drop for sure. With a shortcut like this available, who would want to train?" Noah lightly laughed. Grine Water was no miracle potion.

Usually, an ordinary person has to construct a rune pattern inside their mind based on a Paragon Rank spell. However, one must also reach a bottleneck with their mana in their soul orb.

Grine Water helps a person instantly break through the mana bottleneck, resulting in them achieving Paragon Rank. However, the way that Grine Water does so is rather cruel. 

Once ingested, Grine Water will actually consume a person's life force and transform it into mana used to break the bottleneck.

The resulting Paragon Rank Mage will be weaker than those who broke through naturally, and will have a shorter life span. A Paragon Rank Mage normally lives up to 300 years, but those who consume Grine Water only live until 150 years.

What's worse, the Mage will find himself mostly unable to breakthrough to the next Rank, as his soul won't be able to take the stress of breaking through a higher Rank. There are only two choices for Mages like that: risk your life and try your luck, or live out your life as a Paragon Rank Mage.

"No wonder Callum repeatedly announced that he regretted ever creating Grine Water. It's quite a cruel little thing." Noah smiled before exiting the small room and buying another set of ingredients and extending his time for another hour.

Another hour later, Noah exited the small room again, this time with two potion bottles filled with water like liquid. Sweeping his gaze through the fancy hall, Noah quickly found a side room. On the door which led to the room were the shiny words “Inspection Room”.

Walking inside, the room was quite empty and only a middle aged man who was obviously bored sat there. Hearing the door open, the man raised his head and, upon seeing Noah, the expression on his face changed to a professional smile: “Sir, do you plan on having something inspected?”

"Yes." Noah walked up and placed the two potion bottles on the desk in front of the middle aged man. “This is?” Looking confused, the middle aged man carefully picked up one of the bottles and inspected it. 

“Could I ask, what... potion is within this bottle? What does it do?” Seeing that he was dealing with an Alchemist, the middle aged man asked with respect.

"I call it "Grine Water". I invented it. It can immediately break through the mana bottleneck and promote an ordinary person into a Paragon Rank Mage." Noah replied.

"Excuse me?" The middle aged man stared at Noah with a dumb expression. "You said... That it can turn an ordinary person into a Paragon Rank Mage immediately?" Noah nodded. "My potion has only a single side effect, and that is a shorter lifespan of the Mage." 

As for the other drawbacks of Grine Water, Noah didn't mention them. His expression changing once more, the middle aged man carefully placed the bottle on the table in front of him and respectfully asked: “Sir, could you wait for a second? I need to ask our auction’s master to inspect this potion!”

“Sure, hurry up.” Waving his hand, Noah did not pretend to be polite and sat in a chair to the side. The middle aged man quickly nodded and hurriedly left the room.

After waiting in the room for a little while, the middle aged man returned with a green robed elder with slightly whitened hair.

“Sir, this is our auction’s Inspection Master. He’s a Middle Grade Alchemist!” The middle aged man respectfully introduced the newcomer.

The middle aged man carefully picked up the bottle on the table and passed it to the old man. Taking the bottle, the old man first sniffed the liquid inside while his old eyes closed slightly. 

He also used his mana sense to carefully inspect it. After a while, the old man nodded. "This is indeed a low grade potion. However, pardon my rudeness, but I believe that the effects you speak of are impossible, Sir."

"It's understandable why you think that. Bring an ordinary person here and have them try it out. Only then will we know if it's impossible or not." Hearing Noah's answer, the old man's brows furrowed, but he agreed with Noah's words.

Some time later, he returned with an ordinary man in a red cloak. The ordinary man was a magician with no hope of advancement to Paragon Rank. This was the reason why the old Inspection Master chose him.

The red cloaked man bowed to Noah somewhat anxiously. "Tell me, do you know how to create a rune pattern inside your mind?" Noah asked. "Y-yes, I know the basics." 

With a nod, Noah signalled to the old man, and the latter gave the red cloaked man a Paragon Rank scroll and one bottle of Grine Water. After hearing the instructions, the red cloaked man bowed respectfully before corking open the bottle and drinking the Grine Water.

He studied the scroll for some time, and then sat down on the floor cross-legged. Noah and the rest sat on the side, waiting for the result. 

They stood in complete silence, because if they somehow interrupted the magician, he would immediately die from the inside.

A few hours passed by. Suddenly, the magician opened his eyes, and released the pressure belonging to a Paragon Rank Mage! 

When the old Inspection Master and the middle aged man saw this, their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. With a trembling voice, the old man turned to Noah. 

"S-sir, this..." "I wasn't lying. Or are you still not convinced?" "No, no! I'm convinced, truly!" The old man yelled exasperatedly. He couldn't believe this, an ordinary person who had no hope of breaking through to Paragon Rank actually broke through easily!

This was unpredecended! The magician also felt himself feeling different and filled with power. Tears filled his eyes as he kowtowed repeatedly on the floor in front of Noah, continuously thanking him.

"I have to contact the lady, quick!" Without wasting a moment, the old man ran out of the room with the newly promoted magician, leaving behind Noah and the middle aged man.

“S-sir, do you plan on auctioning this potion?” The middle aged man spoke with tremendous respect. Never in his life did he see something like this. He felt like this was a birth of a new legend.

“Yes, can you auction it as soon as possible?” Noah nonchalantly replied. He was also relieved that Grine Water wasn't already introduced to the world. This was the beginning of his clipping of Callum's wings to glory.

“Yes, yes, that’s no problem, no problem at all. Respected Sir, take this and go to the first auction room. Luckily, we’re having an auction there right now and your potion will be auctioned immediately!” 

The middle aged man smiled while respectfully handing over a shining golden card. “Okay.” Taking the golden card, Noah didn’t wait and left the room immediately.

Sitting in his room, the middle aged man sunk into his chair. The excitement he felt still left him weak. His heart thumped crazily. "A genius! I feel blessed to witness the birth of a new genius! Moreover, he looked so young. How old is he?" 

At the same time, under the lead of a waitress, Noah made his way to the auction. Once he showed her the golden card, the waitress couldn't help but let out a small yelp. 

Her demeanor changed to a much more respectful one, and she guided him to a private luxurious room on the highest floor of the auction. From here, Noah would be able to observe the auction while avoiding being seen.

The room was lavish and filled with the most beautiful furniture money and mana crystals could buy. The waitress also brought Noah a lavish meal and the best wine. [Meh, tastes pretty bad.] Noah only drank as a formality as he looked through the special glass window at the hall outside.

In the hall the auction was being held, the originally bright environment darkened while thunderous yells poured everywhere. 

The auction was huge and the hall could definitely fit at least hundreds to even thousands of people. At this time, at the center of the hall, under a bright light, a red robed beauty was using her charming voice to describe the item in her hand.

Under the numbing and clear sound of the voice, the item that really wasn’t worth much had it’s price increase at an exponential rate.


	110. Chapter 110

Isabella was an expert at creating the atmosphere. Her glances and smiles would make the price of the item go up exponentially for a while. 

In addition, every time the price was raised, she would send a charming smile to the person who just called out the latest price and they would forget their pain of overpaying for the item.

The atmosphere within the auction house was always kept at a climax with her smiles. "That will be all for today, thank you so mu-hm?" Just as Isabella was announcing the end of the auction, the Inspection Master ran out to her side.

The people present saw this and were wondering what was so urgent that the famous Inspection Master himself had to hurry over. The old man began whispering to Isabella, and soon, the beautiful woman's face greatly changed to a look of surprise.

The people who saw this were also interested in what was happening when suddenly, Isabella's face showed a bright smile. A few of the richer people recognized this smile as a sign of Isabella "smelling money".

"Hehe, everyone, the auction house has just received a new auction item. I believe, that everyone would be interested in it.” Isabella suddenly paused and said aloud towards the audience. 

With a wave of her hand, a waitress quickly brought up a silver plate and in the middle of the plate was a glass bottle filled with what appeared to be water. 

“This is a low grade potion.” With her delicate hand picking up the glass bottle, Isabella’s charming voice calmed the auctioneers for an instant. 

But soon, people began to get confused. Although a low grade potion isn't trash, it isn't something that Isabella would treat so specially. 

Some of the more experienced bidders waited, as they began thinking that something interesting was about to happen.

“This thing is named Grine Water. It is only effective to those below Paragon Rank. Taking Grine Water allows ordinary people to ignore the mana bottleneck and immediately breakthrough to Paragon Rank! Hehe, if you like you son or grandson to be called a genius, this is perfect for you!” 

Her attractive mouth lightly breathed the words and numbed the minds of many of the auctioneers. In fact, it was so effective that the people present actually sat paralyzed.

Just as someone was meaning to ask a question, Isabella opened her mouth and continued. "The potion only has one drawback, and that is a shortened lifespan of the Mage. However, the lifespan can be extended using the same means as always." 

The hall fell into silence again. After a while, someone raised an essential question. "Cough cough, lady Isabella, I don't mean to be rude, but... Have you... Checked the validity of the potion?" 

The person who asked was rather afraid that he accidentally insulted Isabella by implying that she was tricked by someone. 

“Hehe, don't worry. This potion was personally inspected by our Inspection Master and even allowed a previously ordinary person with a bad attribute to immediately advance into Paragon Rank after a few hours. There will not be a problem, everyone can be assured of that.” Isabella lightly laughed while responding.

Hearing that the Inspection Master had personally inspected the potion, those with doubt didn’t question the validity of the potion anymore. Everyone knew that the Inspection Master was a middle grade Alchemist. 

If a middle grade Alchemist made a mistake in inspecting a low grade potion, then he might as well just kill himself on the spot instead of living with the humiliation. And that left only one option; what Isabella just said was true.

The thought of such an easy way to breakthrough made everyone think of the unending possibilities. Just think of all the factions that could rapidly increase their strength in a short time!

Noah leaned on his chair and watched the excited atmosphere within the crowd. [Looks like the Grine Water will bring quite a bit of income.] He thought to himself.

“Lady Isabella, can you set the bottom price already!” One of the auctioneers impatiently yelled out. Keeping her charming smile, Isabella replied. “Grine Water, bottom price, 100,000 high grade mana crystals!”

After she called out the bottom price, the auction house became visibly quieter. Obviously, a lot of the auctioneers didn’t have the wealth to buy such an expensive item.

Noah couldn’t help but shake his head. This woman was indeed incredible at bleeding money from people. [As expected from the 'Money Demon'.] 100,000 high grade mana crystals was a huge price for many small or middle grade forces. 

Only big shots like the Dukes, the Prime Minister, the Royal Family and the Alchemist Guild may afford themselves to waste such an amount. And this is just the bottom price....

Facing the awkward atmosphere, Isabella kept her charming smile. She knew that the attraction of this potion was so huge that people would be willing to use their entire fortune to buy it.

Just like her prediction, the lack of bids didn’t last for long. A nearly bald middle aged man shakily yelled out: “110,000!” 

“130,000!” Right after the nearly bald man yelled out his price, a yellow robed old man also called out his price. 

Giving an evil eye to the old man, the bald middle aged man yelled out again. “140,000!”

Within the auction house, there were only a few bids. After all, the 100,000 price was enough to bar the majority of auctioneers from bidding.

“200,000!” Right when the previous two were about to quit bidding, one of the big shots in the upper floors finally called out his bid. The other two gave up, the new price was exceeding the amount they had.

“230,000!” Right after, another big shot called out his price.

The first one didn't give up. “250,000!”

And the second continued. “270,000!”

“280,000!”

“300,000!” After a while, the price reached a staggering 300,000 high grade mana crystals. In the end, the person who shouted out first ended up winning.

"Grine Water, won by the person on the third floor. Congratulations! The waitress will immediately take the purchase to you." Isabella lightly smiled as she tapped with the hammer in her hand.

Seeing the final moments of the auction, Noah finished his meal and slowly got up, leaving the auction house. He didn't end up buying anything, as there wasn't anything that caught his eye. [I just have to wait until Robert Donell Jr. gets me the dragon egg...]

Leaving the first auction hall, Noah returned to the Inspection Room and under the respectful gaze of the middle aged man, patiently waited. A few minutes later, with a flurry of footsteps, two shadows pushed the door open.

“Hehe, are you the owner of the Grine Water? Sir, is this your first time in the capital?” With a gust of perfume, a charming yet numbing giggle sounded besides Noah. 

“Was the auction successful? Give me the money, I have something to do.” Noah replied a little impatiently.

Isabella covered her mouth as she laughed. After a while, she recovered: “Please excuse us for a little while longer. We’re still working on the paperwork.”

Slightly nodding, Noah didn’t open his mouth again and moved his sight from Isabella while keeping silent. Looking at this youth covered by a white cloak in front of her, Isabella’s brows furrowed. 

Looks like her prideful beauty had no effect. Pursing her lips, her gaze swept over the young man, trying to discern every single detail in order to find out what type of person she was dealing with.

After sweeping through Noah and not getting much information, Isabella disappointedly looked at the Inspection Master. After their eyes met, she bit her lips and asked. “Sir, Isabella has rarely seen such a young looking Alchemist. Could I ask your name?" 

"Oh, so coming to this place means that I need to say who I am?” Noah’s voice spoke up. “Hehe, Isabella was only curious. If Sir doesn’t want to say it, Isabella wouldn’t force you.” Isabella lightly laughed.

"My name is Noah." After hearing the name, Isabella searched her memory for any young looking Alchemists named Noah. She remembered a few, but all of those were older than the young man sitting in front of her. 

"Sir, are you perhaps using some means of changing your appearance? You look to be around twenty years old." Isabella asked again. "I am exactly twenty years old." Noah replied cooly.

"Eh?" Isabella as well as the two other people stared at Noah in silence. The room was so quiet you could hear a needle drop. "You're... not joking, Sir?" Isabella only spoke after a minute.

"Why would I joke about something like that? I have no reason to lie. But of course, I can give you permission to inspect my face in case you think I'm lying." Noah responded while removing his hood.

"Then... Please don't take offence." Isabella carefully observed the young man in front of her. She placed her hands on his face and traced her fingers across his cheeks, all up to his forehead.

Noah closed his eyes and let her do what she wanted. As time passed, Isabella was more and more shocked. [Indeed. I can't feel the springy feeling of an Ice Cicada Mask. This is his real face!]

[Moreover, his skin...] As she felt Noah's skin with her fingers, Isabella noticed that his skin was unlike any man's. It reminded her more of a woman's fair and delicate skin. 

She didn't even notice that she had been continuously tracing her fingers across his face for a long time already. "Isn't that enough?" Noah's question woke Isabella up from her thoughts. 

"Ah, hahah, my apologies, I hope you weren't insulted, Sir." Isabella's face flushed a little in shame. "It's fine." Noah replied and slowly opened his eyes. His calm demeanor surprised Isabella.

Isabella was a master of observing people and even the tinniest of their reactions, as she often had to negotiate with people about various businesses. This is why this young man struck her as weird.

Throughout all her life, she has naturally met many men, and has seen many different personalities and characters. However, none of them were similar to this youth in front of her. 

Isabella was a very attractive woman. If any man had experienced her touch and saw her figure up close, they would show different reactions, from being embarrassed and reddening, or even using the chance to see something forbidden.

This was especially the case with young men. However, Noah was the first young man Isabella noticed that had no interest in her looks whatsoever. He even closed his eyes indifferently when she came close.

What's more, Noah was only twenty years old. For Ranked Mages, this was extremely young. It was natural that such men would have their heads filled with beautiful women. [Just what has he experienced in his life to look so indifferent all the time?]

"But, I must say Sir, only twenty years old, and yet you're already a low grade Alchemist. That's amazing, haha." Isabella laughed as she tried to hide her shame. "Who said I was a low grade Alchemist?" Noah's surprised question stunned Isabella.

"Eh, you're not?" Suddenly, Isabella noticed that Noah pulled out a small iron token out of his robes. Her words instantly got stuck in her throat. The whole room once again feel into silence.

The old Inspection Master almost fainted on the spot. [A-a middle grade Alchemist at twenty years old? Wait, that means that he is an Officer Rank Mage?!] He actually had to sit on a nearby chair as his legs felt weak. The middle aged man also sunk into his chair.

Isabella felt incredibly bewildered. [A middle grade Alchemist that just invented a never seen before potion... If I could get him on our side!] "Um, Sir, do you perhaps... Belong to a certain force?" 

"No." Seeing Noah shake his head, Isabella's heartbeat increased. "Cough cough, then, if you have nowhere else to go, would you be interested in joining the Primer Family? We will certainly help you develop your abilities to the fullest!" 

"Hmm..." Noah fell in thought. The silence in the room dragged on for five whole minutes. "My apologies, but I dislike being chained down by my position. I'll have to refuse." 

"Ah, you don't have to join into the Primer Family fully. You can be a Guest Elder! It's a position that allows personal freedom in exchange for some of your services. Moreover, the Primer Family will still support you just the same!" Isabella didn't want to give up. 

The youth in front were her was too valuable to just let go. If the family found out about that, she might get horribly punished. However, if she succeeded, the family would no doubt greatly reward her.

"Hmm..." Noah kept the suspense in the air again. "That doesn't sound too bad..." 

"Yes. And you will also be considered the highest VIP in any Primer Auction House! The Primer Family is one of the top noble families in the continent, so many would envy you for having such a position." Isabella continued.

The silence continued, and Isabella felt her heart in her throat. "Alright... I'll accept your condition." When she heard Noah's words, Isabella felt like a mountain fell off her shoulders. "Great, then-" "However, I have one condition..." 

"Yes?" "The Grine Water. I'll only brew it for the Primer Family, who can then auction it however they want. I get 60% of the income. In return, the family has to ensure my safety and guarantee me the Guest Elder position. We can talk about the necessary amount every year in further detail.

Isabella thought to herself. This deal was extremely beneficial to the family. What Noah just proposed was a monopoly on a huge source of money. Just thinking about the profits from all over the continent made her mouth water.

But, she soon thought of something. "Sir, does anyone else know the formula for the potion?" "No." Noah replied confidently. [I'll just have to deter Callum from entering the auction house when he arrives.]

"Then, I'm proud to announce the beginning of our new partnership, Sir Noah!" Isabella lightly smiled as she stood up. 

"Please wait for a while. I have to set up the paperwork. A waitress will lead you to a special room inside the Primer Auction House. I believe you'll like it." 

"Thank you. Just call me Noah, I trust it gets quite tiresome calling me 'Sir' constantly." Isabella gave Noah a strange glance before smiling. "Yes, Noah." 

As she was hurriedly running towards her private quarters, Isabella thought about how strange Noah was. [He doesn't have the arrogance that Alchemists possess. Quite strange.] She smiled to herself. [What an interesting person.]


	111. Chapter 111

An hour later, in front of Noah stood a contract. After he signed it with his signature and magic imprint, the contract was finalized. 

"Hehe, Congratulations, Elder Noah. You can now be considered an Alchemist belonging to the Primer Family." Isabella smiled as she offered Noah something to drink.

"I prefer tea." "Oh? I myself also prefer it more, it has a gentler taste than wine." Isabella smiled as a waitress served the tea without making a mistake. "I have notified the family. They should get the message soon. I trust that they will be rather thrilled."

Noah smiled in response. "Ah, that's right. I've been meaning to ask, can you help me check if there is anything in the auction house which can increase mana quality of a Mage?”

“Increase mana quality?” Hearing this, Isabella was momentarily at a loss. Immediately, she frowned. “Those things are definitely unique things…. I will take a look.” As she said that, she turned around and went to a bookshelf. 

After she searched for a moment, she finally hugged a thick book and walked out. She carefully searched through it before shaking her head and said apologetically. 

“I’m sorry. The things that can help increase mana quality are really far too rare. I have searched the records of the auction house for the past year and it seems we didn’t collect any treasures of that kind.”

"I see. It's a shame." Disappointment flashed across Noah's face. Isabella helplessly shook her head, but did not have the ability to help even though she wanted to. "I can at most promise that I will immediately notify you if we receive such an item." 

"Thank you, that would be a great help." Noah replied. [Callum has invented many potions throughout his life, one of which helps increase the quality of your mana, subsequently increasing your strength. If I could take that potion, then alongside Tears of Mary and the dragon's blessing, how strong would I become?]

He was about to bid Isabella goodbye when a female servant strode into the room. “Lady Isabella, lady Charlotte wishes to see you regarding something." She spoke respectfully.

Hearing the notification of the female servant, Isabella became slightly blank. “Charlotte Esford?” “Yes.” The female servant respectfully replied.

“Why is she looking for me?” Isabella knit her eyebrows together slightly and mumbled softly. She sighed and eyed Noah, apologizing. “I’m sorry, Elder Noah, it appears that our talk has to end."

"It's fine." Noah replied. "Please wait here for a moment. I will return shortly after." Noah nodded in response.

Seeing that Noah had agreed, Isabella sighed in relief. Passing by the female servant’s side, she told her to look after Noah properly before quickly striding out of the room.

Following her leave, the atmosphere in the room became quiet. The female servant that was waiting in one corner was jittery and did not dare to make any noise or interrupt Noah. 

She was also extremely careful even when pouring a new cup of tea, not daring to create the slightest noise.

The quiet atmosphere persisted for nearly half an hour when a hurried and clear ‘click-clack’ noise sounded from the door. Immediately, Isabella’s quiet and elegant body appeared within Noah's sight.

“Has she left?” Noah slowly put down the teacup in his hand and asked. “Yes.” As she walked into the room, Isabella turned her gaze to Noah while her long fingers gently tapped on the table. 

A moment later, she finally said with a smile to Noah. "Elder Noah, do you really need those treasures that increase the quality of your mana?” 

“Yes, I quite need them.” Noah nodded. His gaze stared intently at Ya Fei and he softly asked, “As long as you are able to take it out, I can give you a satisfactory price.”

“The unique things that can increase mana quality are extremely rare. Even with the huge flow of goods in our Primer Auction House, we have hardly collected those kind of items.” Isabella shook her head and helplessly said.

“So you mean...” Noah realized where this conversation was going.

“Our Primer Auction House indeed does not have those unique items. However, according to what I know, a certain family in the capital does have a unique plant that is named 'Phantasmal Beanstalk'."

"The roots of this kind of plant can be refined into a kind of extremely mysterious liquid substance. This kind of substance is the best ingredient for increasing mana quality.” Isabella smiled as she replied.

"Oh really? And the Esford Family has it?" Noah's face brightened up. He already needed to visit the Esford Family regardless, so this was a perfect chance to do so.

“Yes, it is indeed them.” Isabella replied. “That kind of treasure is something that anyone would properly admire and hide. Do you really think that the Esford Family would sell that ‘Phantasmal Beanstalk' to me?” 

Noah still had to pretend that he didn't know about the Esford Family's situation so he asked. "The old grandfather of the Esford Family found himself under attack by a malicious cult a few years ago. Although he managed to exterminate them all, he suffered a last ditch attack, the 'Branded Poison'."

Isabella spoke in a serious voice. "Ah, I see. That thing is indeed very malicious." Noah responded. The Branded Poison was a ritual used by Dark Mages to get rid of people too strong to fight head on.

Although it's called a poison, it's actually a cluster of negative thoughts and emotions towards the target. The cults usually sacrifice all of their members' souls to create and launch the Branded Poison at the target.

Once it has stuck itself to it's target, the Branded Poison will seep deeply into the target's flesh and bones until it reaches the soul. In the end, the target's very own soul will be consumed and destroyed painfully.

The most terrifying aspect of the Branded Poison is that it can target someone regardless of Rank, and unless the person is strong enough to expel the poison by themselves, there is very little hope of survival.

"During these last few years, grandfather Esford relied on his strength to suppress the poison. However, as he becomes older, the backlash from the poison also becomes increasingly stronger. Half a month ago, the Branded Poison that was hidden in his body completely erupted."

"Under this kind of eruption, grandfather Esford, whose strength is at the General Rank, completely collapsed. Now, the entire Esford Family is in a total mess as they go everywhere to find an Alchemist to save him.”

"With Lady Charlotte’s relationships, shouldn’t she be able to hire the Medicine King? With his ability, what kind of poison can he not cure?” Noah said faintly.

“She hired him but even the Medicine King does not have the ability to remove the Branded Poison. Like it’s name suggests, that kind of poison hides deep within the bones and even the bone marrow. All medicinal potions would have difficulty completely removing it.” Isabella shook her head and laughed bitterly.

“Even the Medicine King doesn’t have a solution?” Hearing this, Noah said with 'shock'. “Yes.” Isabella nodded her head and voiced her thought. 

“Although the Medicine King did not remove the poison, he had spoken about a method that can work. That is to control a flame, place it into grandfather Esford’s body and use the high temperature to expel the Branded Poison in it. Unfortunately... there is a very important pre-condition for this."

Isabella's face looked rather sorrowful. "The person who controls the flame must have incredibly precise movements and control over his flame. If there is even a single, smallest mistake, the Branded Poison will only hurry up and kill grandfather Esford immediately."

“Therefore, the Esford Family is currently spending a large amount of mana crystals to hire those Superior Grade Alchemists. Unfortunately, they did not move a single one; they have named a great price that even our Primer Family covets. And, within that great price, there is the Phantasmal Beanstalk.” Isabella waved her hand.

“Whoever is able to cure grandfather Esford will be able to obtain that Phantasmal Beanstalk. Recently, there have been many Alchemists who have gone to try. Unfortunately, all of them failed without exception.”

“A moment ago, the reason Charlotte came to find me was to ask us, the Primer Auction House, to help them advertise and see if we could find an Alchemist with a precise flame control.”

Noah already decided to go, but he pretended to be in thought. If he succeeded, this would undoubtedly make the Primer Family look at him in a better light. [An unexpected benefit.]

Eyeing Noah, who appeared to be in deep thought as he slowly tapped on the surface of the table, Isabella became somewhat nervous. 

Grandfather Esford, as the person in charge of the Esford Family, had built up quite a good relationship with the Primer Family during these years that he was in power. 

If he were to fall, then the collaboration arrangements between the Esford Family and the Primer Family might descend into a period of stagnation. Such losses would be quite significant.

Of course, Isabella naturally did not expect that Noah would be able to expel the poison in grandfather Esford’s body with his strength. 

Although Noah has proven himself to be a shocking genius, Isabella still did not think that Noah would be able to possess the precision and flame control of a Superior Grade Alchemist.

The main reason for her to care so much about Noah’s response was because she wanted to engage the mysterious teacher hiding behind Noah to act. 

After all, even a genius like Noah had to be taught by someone, right? If Noah said that he didn't have a teacher, Isabella would never believe him.

Under such a situation, if that mysterious master were willing to act, the life of grandfather Esford, which was hanging by a thread, may be truly pulled back…

“Just hearing the method that the Medicine King described, I think that this should be an extremely risky procedure, no? As long as the the person releasing the flame had the slightest negligence, grandfather Esford might die instantly. Even though it is like that, you are still suggesting that I go and try?" Noah finally spoke slowly.

Isabella smiled bitterly and nodded. “This is indeed a very dangerous thing. However, the Esford Family has no choice. If they don’t even take this risk, then grandfather Esford might really have no hope. Do you want to go and try?”

As she watched Noah, some joy appeared in Isabella’s eyes. As long as Noah agreed, it was likely that the mysterious teacher hiding behind him would at least secretly help even if he did not personally act to save grandfather Esford. 

If that were the case, the chances of curing grandfather Esford would be raised by quite a lot.

“Then, I shall go and try. If I am able to help him expel his poison, I will do my best. Although I have already said, this is something extremely dangerous. If at any time my emotions are not smooth and if my hand were to tremble, I will not take responsibility should I kill him.”

Hearing the last sentence, Isabella helplessly shook her head. “I will help write a recommendation letter for you. When you go to the Esford Family later, having the letter should help reduce some strict checks.”

“Yes, I will trouble you then.” Noah smiled and nodded.

Isabella turned around and took out an exquisitely made piece of paper. Her hand supported the ink pen as she bent slightly. 

Her body was tightly curled into an attractive curve as her pretty face concentrated on seriously and slowly writing on the paper. 

A moment later, she sighed gently and folded this recommendation letter properly before handing it to Noah. “This is the first time that I have recommended someone.” She smiled.

"Haha, thank you for the trouble. Unfortunately, I have one last request for you, if you'd be so kind..." Noah put on a charming apologetic smile as he asked.

"What is it? Ask me anything, Elder Noah." Isabella smiled in return. "It's nothing much. I would just like to ask for your help in searching for a dear friend of mine. I've heard that he may come here in the next month..."

"Oh? A friend of yours is a friend of mine, Elder Noah. Can you describe his name and appearance so that I can immediately point him to you?" Isabella pulled out another piece of paper as she prepared her ink pen.

"Haha, he's a rather shy boy, I'm afraid that you'd scare him off. Just immediately notify me when you see him, it's of great importance that I meet him." Noah replied while awkwardly shaking his head.

After listing down his appearance, Isabella asked for the name. "Malluc. Malluc Rytram." Noah replied with a thick smile. Clearly, he was earnestly waiting to meet that friend of his.

......

At the door of the Primer Auction House, Noah stood at the junction of the street. He raised his head and eyed the center position of the city. 

At that spot was where the only Grand Duke family in the Brabet Kingdom, the Esford Family, was located.

“The second step..." Noah inserted both his hands into his sleeves and softly smiled. Immediately after, his expression calmed and he slowly walked toward the huge family.


	112. Chapter 112

As he walked closer to the house which was filled with a majestic and imposing aura, Noah saw that the entrance was actually clustered by quite a number of people. 

Moreover, these people were all wearing Alchemist robes and all had their tokens dangling on their chests proudly, revealing their status and grade.

Anyone who walked down this street, where people come and go, would throw envious and respectful glances at the group of Alchemists who were whispering amongst themselves. 

When faced with this considerably large powered Alchemists, the Esford Family clearly did not dare to easily slight them. 

Some servants were explaining something to the Alchemists waiting at the entrance in a reverent and respectful manner. 

Only when they discovered that the other party had the qualification to enter did they let them through. Some of the Alchemists whose ability had some problem could only be rejected by the smiling faced servants. 

Although such an action caused those Alchemists that were blocked to feel dissatisfied, when they thought of Esford Family’s strength and the relationship between Charlotte Esford and Four Seasons Garden, they could only bottle up their unhappiness, dust their sleeves, and leave.

After staring at the entrance for a while, Noah realized that the Alchemists who were allowed to enter appeared to be middle grade Alchemists. 

On the other hand, the Alchemists who were rejected were low grade along with some middle grade Alchemists who lacked in ability.

Pushing through the human crowd, Noah took a step forward. An old man, who was dressed in a black tuxedo, hurriedly came forward.

"Your Excellency, I am the Esford Family butler. I think that you should be here to try if you can cure our Family’s patriarch, Reynold Esford, no?” Noah nodded his head. He did not openly speak. 

The butler did not take offense to his behavior. Such a behavior was expected from Alchemists. Noah handed the recommendation letter he got from Isabella and stood in place.

The butler read the letter and steped aside to make way. Facing the guards at the door, he cried out in a low voice. “Move aside!”

“Your Excellency, please enter. I hope that you will really be able to cure our patriarch. If that is the case you will forever be our Esford Family’s friend.” The old man bowed slightly toward Noah. The old butler’s words were filled with respect.

Noah nodded his head slightly. His face still had the same expressionless manner. Without saying anything the whole time, he slowly walked into the main entrance and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

After entering the main entrance, a pretty female servant hurriedly walked out from one corner. After which, she gently said a few words to Noah before leading the way from in front.

Noah followed behind the female servant at a normal pace. His gaze swept over this luxurious mansion. Even though this wasn't the main family estate, the luxury of the mansion proved that the Esford Family was indeed a Grand Duke family of the Brabet Kingdom.

Noah raised his head and watched a luxurious large hall that appeared at the end of a small path. His gaze passed through the unlatched door and was able to faintly see that there were quite a number of people standing within it.

As he slowly walked into the hall, there were some soft and private whispers that were emitted from within. He gently pushed open the door, and the soft whispers in the hall suddenly ceased. 

After which, numerous gazes were thrown toward the door. When everyone’s gazes drifted towards the iron token on his chest, they were momentarily stunned, before immediately recovering. Clearly, they believed that Noah was a lot older than he looked.

Noah looked around the hall. With him included, there were about ten middle grade Alchemists. However, these middle grade Alchemists were mostly middle-aged. Among them, there were even two whose heads were completely white.

Noah stood close to them, and they looked at each other with friendly gazes. There was no arrogance towards him in their eyes. With a friendly wave and a nod of a head, they all focused their attention on one thing.

Noah also moved his gaze, finally stopping at a middle-aged man’s body which was seated on the leader’s seat in the hall. 

This person wore blue noble clothing. As his tiger like eyes opened and closed, he gave off a feeling of always being angry.

Noah's gaze moved away from the middle-aged man and finally paused on a beautiful girl by the side. This girl was Charlotte.

By the middle-aged man's side, Charlotte was wearing a moon robe as she sat quietly. Her pretty eyes watched Noah who had just entered and a surprise similarly flashed across her pretty face. 

As Noah’s gaze stared at the middle-aged man, the latter also placed his gaze on his body. When the middle-aged man saw the young appearance of the former, he was momentarily stunned. 

He immediately stood up and lightly bowed to Noah. "Hello there friend. I am Eugene Esford, the temporary patriarch of the Esford Family."

"Greetings, lord Eugene. I'm Noah, a new Guest Elder of the Primer Family." Noah replied courteously, like a noble. “Isabella of the Primer Family had recommended for me to come and try to see if I could help expel the poison from Grand Duke Raynold.”

“Oh, haha, you are recommended by that little girl? Please sit.” Hearing this, Eugene suddenly nodded his head and laughed.

Noah nodded lightly. He walked to the last spot available and then quietly sat down. After sitting on the chair, Noah descended into silence. However, he was still able to clearly sense that Charlotte's gaze seemed to have paused for quite some time on him.

[Why does this person give me the feeling that he looks familiar?] Charlotte’s eyes glanced at the white cloaked man seated in the corner. Her eyebrows were knit together as she thought to herself. 

With a light cough, Eugene gathered everyone's attention. "I think that everyone here is clear what kind of problem our Esford Family is facing. My father is suffering from Branded Poison. Now, the poison has erupted and he can finally no longer suppress it." 

"We have tried contacting Superior Grade Alchemists, but they weren't interested in anything we offered. We are losing time, so we have chosen to look for other methods. If any of you succeed, I can promise you Esford Family's eternal friendship as well as a big reward!" 

Eugene waved his hand and pointed to a side door as he stood up. "Please follow me, I will lead you to see my father." Before he could, though, a girl's voice interrupted him.

"Father, wait. You're already tired from your duties. Please allow me to bring The Excellencies over." Charlotte stood up and gave Eugene a meaningful glare.

Eugene understood what she wanted, and sighed. "That's fine. However, be careful..." With a nod, Charlotte politely bowed to the Alchemists and led them to a different building outside. 

The building didn't look like anything special, at most a small barn. It only had a single room, and in the middle stood a trap door with a special magic formation engraved on it. 

Once Charlotte touched the formation with her hand, with a few sizzling noises, the formation disappeared, and the trap door opened, revealing a stone staircase. The staircase wasn't long, but what caught everyone's eye was that the stairs were completely covered with frost.

As they all walked downwards, the temperature in the basement became lower and lower. Apart from the stairs, the entirety of the walls and the ceiling was covered in ice, making it look more like an ice cave.

"Oh, there's a slight black color in this ice?" One of the Alchemists tried to touch one of the ice stalactites nearby. "No, don't!" Hearing Charlotte's scream, the old man quickly pulled back his hand.

"My apologies, Your Excellency. That ice was specifically casted to slow down the spreading of the Branded Poison. Unfortunately, the Branded Poison had corroded the ice, making it very dangerous." Hearing Charlotte's explanation, the old Alchemist nodded and did not take it to heart.

A few minutes later, the group arrived at the end of the staircase. It was a small room with a single door and some chairs. Charlotte touched the door, removing an another magic formation on it. "My grandfather is in there. I would like everyone to take turns and give it a try.”

Hearing the words, the ten Alchemists exchanged glances with each other. A moment later, an old man with a long white beard stood up with a smile and took the lead in entering the next room. 

However, after ten minutes, he shook his head and walked out. He returned to his seat and spoke to Charlotte with an awkward smile. 

“I’m sorry, lady Charlotte, that Branded Poison is really far too stubborn. I have refined over ten different antidotes, but all of them had no effect.”

Hearing the old man’s words, Charlotte by the side sighed in disappointment. She smiled bitterly and shook her head.

Behind the old man, the rest of the Alchemists took turns to enter the room. However, after over ten minutes, all of them walked out with embarrassment. 

Clearly, they did not have the ability to remove the potent poison that even a high grade Alchemist, the Medicine King could do nothing about.

As each of the Alchemists walked out with embarrassed faces, the disappointment on Charlotte's face also grew increasingly dense. 

When the last Alchemist walked out from within, her emotions finally sank slowly. Although she tried to hide it, Charlotte's pretty eyes became slightly red.

In front of the small room, the usually arrogant Alchemists were no longer as pleased and prideful as before. Their embarassed old faces remained silent.

Following everyone’s silence, the atmosphere also gradually became depressing. A long while later, Charlotte sighed and forcefully said with a smile. 

“Thank you everyone. It looks like my grandfather’s life is fated to have this calamity. Although you have failed, I will still ask father to give all of you a great recompense.”

Hearing these words which were expelling people in disguise, everyone smiled bitterly and shook their heads. 

They stood up and left. In this kind of atmosphere, they really did not have the face to stay behind for the recompense.

After everyone left, Charlotte stood behind by herself, deep in thought. She looked at the door one last time and began walking upwards. "I must say, isn't that quite rude? There's still one Alchemist left, lady Charlotte."

Hearing a man's voice, Charlotte suddenly turned around in surprise. She saw a young brown haired man that looked to be around her age. The young man was currently smiling without a hint of worry.

"Eh? O-oh, my apologies, Your Excellency, you didn't go inside?" Charlotte fixed her shaky voice as she replied politely. "I merely wanted all those old fellows to leave. I have a way to save your grandfather without risk." 

"You do?!" Charlotte's voice rose a little, but she didn't notice. Immediately after, though, her face darkened. [Why is he telling me this? Does he want something from me?]

"It's very simple actually. I'm going to use the method the Medicine King recommended to expel the poison out of your grandfather's body." Contrary to what Charlotte was thinking, Noah continued to speak in a relaxed voice.

"Eh?!" Charlotte looked at the man in front of her with a surprised expression. "But, that method is extremely risky. If you make a smallest mistake, grandfather will..." The girl's face became white.

"If I told you that it's completely risk free, would you believe me? You can watch if you don't." Charlotte was stunned at this young man in front of her. 

He was treating the famous Branded Poison that even the Medicine King can't cure as if it was just an ordinary cold.

If he really had the ability, then she would be eternally grateful to him. However, if he was the kind of person who did not have any real ability yet liked to go around boasting, she would loathe him from the bottom of her heart.

".... I see. I will just take a look. I don't want to bother you, Your Excellency." After some silence, Charlotte nodded her head, and opened the door to the small room.


	113. Chapter 113

Noah followed behind with a smile on his face. He really wasn't worried at all. With his Sovereign Rank mana sense and his life experience, a mere Branded Poison was nothing special.

Entering inside the small room, Noah saw the famous Raynold Esford. In the middle of the ice covered room, an old man with a thick white beard and moustache sat cross legged on a pedestal. 

The old man's eyes were closed shut, and his entire body was sunken and skinny. He looked more like a skeleton than a human. Apart from the unnaturally black skin, his entire lower body was covered in ice, while his upper body was covered in frost.

"This is my grandfather, Reynold Esford..." Charlotte opened her mouth and said with a shaky voice. "He is currently in an unconcious state. He is often like that..." While she was speaking, Charlotte extended her arm to touch the old man's face, but held herself back.

"Grandfather is a general of the Brabet Kingdom. He was in the battlefield his whole life... He is extremely strict towards everyone and anyone. Even when I was a child, I was treated the same way..." 

Charlotte began reminiscing about her early childhood. Her eyes became somewhat red and moist. A weakness that was usually rarely seen lingered in her eyes, causing this lady, whose status was extremely big, to appear a little pitiful.

"He taught me, that what I gain from my struggles is what truly belongs to me." Charlotte let out a small bitter laugh. "What's funny, is that I worked so hard only to be paired up with someone who I didn't like..." 

"Grandfather, he... Wanted a genius granddaughter, not me..." "Do you hate him?" Noah asked with little interest. He really just wanted to get over with this immediately. 

*Plip plop* Tears began rolling down Charlotte's face and falling on the ice. "Ah, because he was so strict and old fashioned, everyone feared him... While I just wanted to be a granddaughter who makes my grandfather happy..." 

She then turned around and faced Noah. "Noah, you will save my grandfather... Right?" Noah replied with an easy going smile. "Relax, lady Charlotte. If I can't do it, then no one can." 

Seeing Noah's confidence, Charlotte respectfully bowed. "Thank you. Then, I'll go back first." With those last words, Charlotte left the small room. [Finally.] "Guest Elder Noah of the Primer Family greets the Grand Duke Raynold." 

Following his words, the almost frozen old man opened his eyes. "You knew I was awake the whole time?" He asked with a surprised gaze. "How could I not?" Noah put on a respectful smile as he replied.

"Boy, while I'm a bit surprised by how young you look, you're still just a middle grade Alchemist. You better give up, you have no way of treating this old man." Raynold replied nonchalantly.

"How can we know if I don't try, Sir?" With a short chant, Noah threw a fireball at the old man, getting rid of the ice over his body. The melted ice created a puddle on the floor.

Noah slowly extended his middle finger. A wisp of crimson colored flame was shrouding the tip of it. He stared at the green colored flame and calmly spoke. “I am about to begin. I'm afraid that this is going to hurt, Sir. Can you endure it?" 

"Hahaha, this old man spent his entire life in the military, how could this pain possibly hurt me?" Raynold roared in laughter, completely unfased by the potential prospect of death. "That foolish girl is waiting for me to come out. Do it, boy!" 

"Then, please don't take offence." Noah replied with a smile. He slowly extended his mana sense out of his body and wrapped the wisp of crimson colored flame within it. 

The small flame made a 'puff' noise as it entered Reynold's body. The old man's body, who originally had no feeling of his surroundings, suddenly shivered at this moment.

Noah's eyes narrowed as his mana sense controlled that wisp of crimson flame. It swiftly passed through the flesh and gradually approached the old man's bones which were covered by the Branded Poison.

With the help of the extension of his mana sense, the condition within Reynold’s body appeared in Noah’s mind. 

Noah sensed the bones that had nearly become jet-black and his eyebrows were gradually knit together. The poison had already spread deep into Reynold’s body and had exceeded his expectations.

[This will take some time...] Noah thought to himself. After which, his mana sense wrapped around the crimson colored flame and slowly moved closer to the jet-black bones that were covered by the poison. 

Noah's mana sense guided the crimson flame under the bones. At the same time, the crimson colored flames’ temperature slowly began to rise.

As the temperature of the crimson colored flame rose, a painful feeling gradually surfaced on the originally numb faced Raynold. His shriveled hand was also tightly clenched and the veins on his arm stirred.

The crimson colored flame that was covered by the mana sense stopped rising once it reached a certain temperature. 

Noah slowly inhaled the somewhat heated air. He then clenched his teeth and controlled the crimson colored flame until it covered one of the jet-black bones. [This is harder than I originally expected. What a shame, if I was a Sovereign, I could've done this with a flick of a finger.]

The crimson flame wrapped itself around the periphery of the pitch-black bone. Although it seemed to cling to the surface, upon looking closely one would observe that they were separated by a very small gap.

The blazing high temperature of the flames slowly permeated the pitch-black bones, causing a strange substance to slowly emanate from them.

With the continued roasting of the flame, a black substance slowly seeped out of the bones, but before it could escape, it was swiftly surrounded by the crimson flame and under it's temperature, the Branded Poison was roasted into nothingness.

As the time was spent quietly, the section of the pitch-black bone that was wrapped by Noah’s crimson flame was, with a speed visible to the naked eye, gradually restored to its normal color.

On the outside, at this time, Raynold’s body had been drenched with sweat. His old face, while twitching uncontrollably, was emitting a slight sound of sucking in cold air from between his teeth.

Time passed, and the only sounds present were drops of the melted ice falling on the floor, with an occasional grunt from Reynold. His body was already beginning to look a lot better, with the color of his skin slowly turning normal.

Suddenly, Reynold's body began convulsing. His forehead was filled veins that popped out, making him look fierce. His throat began enlarging, as if something was trying to get out of his body.

"Ghhurghl..." With great difficulty and pain from Noah's flame burning his insides, a black liquid substance suddenly shot out of Reynold's mouth! Heaps of black liquid came out of his mouth, falling onto the ice and turning it pitch black.

"Riieeaarrghh!!!" The liquid on the floor rose up into a shape similar to an octopus, with countless small tentacles and mouths filled with razor sharp teeth all over it's body. 

"So that's the main body, huh?" Noah looked at the main body of the Branded Poison with great interest. If he didn't need to heal the old man, he would've much more preferred to study and raise it for himself.

[Alas, what a pity...] Reynold's body was now pretty much completely healed, and the color of his skin was now only dimly black. "Don't disappoint me now, young man!" 

"I suggest you guard yourself, Sir!" Noah turned his attention to the Branded Poison. Similarly, the Branded Poison now showed signs of being angry. With a furious roar, it threw itself at Noah through the air. 

"As an Officer of magic, I command thee, Calidus Brachium Purgatory: Tornado of Primordial Fire." Just as the Branded Poison was half a meter away from Noah, a terrifying amount of crimson flame enveloped the entire small room.

The flame filled the entire room like a flood, before starting to coagulate around Noah, creating a horrifying tornado! "Sccreaarhgh!!" 

The Branded Poison was immediately caught into the tornado of fire, and it began emitting blood curdling screeches as it turned into black fog.

A moment later, even the fog itself was destroyed by the never ending onslaught of the crimson tornado. The ice in the room already melted, and there was not a drop of water remaining. 

Like the true flames of annihilation, the entire room was destroyed without a single speck of dust left over. At the same time, as the small room was naturally incapable of containing such strength, the flame tornado already began breaking the ceiling and rushing upwards.

The Esford mansion and even the surrounding street began to shake as if they were suffering an earthquake. "What's happening?!" Charlotte and Eugene also felt the quaking of the ground.

Suddenly, with a large explosion, a huge tornado of flame broke through the ground, destroying the small building in the garden and soaring high into the skies! With such an eye catching display, the entire capital was soon wondering what happened.

"This flame tornado, it's coming out from grandfather's sealed room!" As the light from the fire was too blinding up close, Charlotte had to cover her eyes and avoid looking directly at the tornado.

"Be careful!" Eugene noticed that the small embers that occasionally fell from the tornado out into the surroundings burned anything that they touched to a crisp. 

[What strength! Who did this? If this was used as an attack, then I'm afraid that even a peak Officer Rank Mage would be burned to a crisp!] Eugene shielded Charlotte behind himself with his protective artifact.

The father daughter pair were amazed at what they were seeing in front of them. An attack of such magnitude only paled in comparison to General Rank Mage spells!

A few moments later, the tornado subsided, leaving behind the destroyed and melted remains of what used to be the small building along with a portion of the garden. Eugene immediately called over his men to get rid of the spreading fire that remained in the end.

However, the surprise didn't end there. Just as the Esford Family people began cleaning up, an overbearing pressure descended on them. Instead of being alarmed, the people present were in fact overjoyed.

"This pressure! Could it be..." Eugene stretched his neck as he looked towards the dust cloud in the place of the small building. "It's grandfather! It's grandfather's pressure!" Tears began forming in Charlotte's eyes, as she suddenly saw a figure coming out from the dust cloud.

"How can my Esford Family children and grandchildren be crying! It shames this old man!" A stern and strict voice came out of Raynold's mouth as he walked out in his full glory. 

The Esford Family Mages knelt down on the ground in respect, and Eugene was all smiles as he looked at his father. "Grandfather, it really is you! This is great!" Charlotte ran into Reynold and hugged him tightly.

"F-foolish girl! What are you doing, hurry up and let go!" Reynold was flustered, but he didn't push Charlotte away. A few moments later, Charlotte remembered something and let go of her grandfather.

"That's right! Grandfather, what about the Alchemist that saved you? How is he?" Hearing her question, Raynold showed a big smile as he turned around. 

"That young man has quite the skills! He actually completely expelled the Branded Poison without harming me. His ability in controlling flame has reached a great level!" 

"Ah, you flatter me too much, Sir. If I could really control it so well, I wouldn't have ended up destroying the property. My apologies for that." Noah came out of the wreckage and politely bowed. 

On the surface, he looked to be unharmed, only a little dusty. But on the inside, his inner organs were all greatly damaged. 

[So even while modified, the Calidus Brachium Purgatory spells are still too powerful to use for now. I'm afraid this can only be used as a last ace in the hole...] Noah was now incredibly weak, and drained of all of his mana. 

If he were to fight now, even a Paragon Rank Mage would beat him with relative ease. Nevertheless, he still had to uphold the role as an Alchemist, and stand tall and proud. At the same time, he felt something on his finger...

"Haha, young man, your strength is too weak now, you probably can't even stand up straight, right?" Raynold lightly slapped Noah on the back. Although he wasn't putting in much force, it was still enough to almost make Noah collapse.

"Be careful!" Charlotte grabbed Noah and helped him regain his footing. "Ah, I'm embarrassed to require your help, lady Charlotte." Noah stood up and smiled at the girl, before freeing himself from her hands.

"Thank you..." Charlotte softly whispered, and Noah replied with a smile. He then turned around at Eugene in front of him. "Noah, it must've been difficult for you. I'll have my men deliver you the Phantasmal Beanstalk as a reward immediately!" 

Just as Noah was about to respond, he received another slap on the back. "How is one thing enough! You are this man's benefactor! Let's go to the treasure room, you can take anything you want from there!" Raynold said.

"Haha, there's no need, Sir. The Phantasmal Beanstalk will suffice..." Noah replied immediately. He definitely did not want to stay here any longer, especially with his injuries. What would happen if the seven colored snake woke up?

Hearing Noah's answer, Raynold laughed out loud in a happy mood. Although he would've rewarded Noah with more should the latter want to, he still much more liked the fact that Noah refused.

"Haha, good! You're not tempted by profit easily! This old man admires your humble nature!" *Bam! bam! bam!* He slapped Noah on the back the whole time he talked. [When will he stop already?]

Seeing Noah's troubled expression and Reynold's jittery mood, Charlotte couldn't help but giggle to herself. She felt great thankfulness towards Noah. At the same time, a feeling of seeing Noah in a new light appeared deep inside her heart.

However, the jolly atmosphere quickly changed with the arrival of the Esford Family butler. With an alarmed and fearful expression, the butler threw himself on the ground and kowtowed to Eugene.

"Lord, Miss, it's horrible! Our treasure room was broken in!" With great difficulty, the butler opened his mouth again. "The Phantasmal Beanstalk has also disappeared!"


	114. Chapter 114

"What?!" Hearing this, Charlotte and Eugene were completely bewildered. On the other hand, Raynold's veins began popping out on his forehead, and thick killing intent began surging out of him.

"I-it was probably stolen during the ruckus earlier. There was only this paper in the box where the Phantasmal Beanstalk used to be!" With shaking hands, the butler presented a piece of paper to Eugene.

"Let me see!" Eugene took the paper and read it out loud. "This treasure does not belong here. I will give it a better home. Your dearest, The Great Treasure Thief." Noah looked at the paper with a confused expression.

[I don't know of any Great Treasure Thief in the future.] Noah already began thinking of the World Will's involvement. It was a theory that made the most sense. "Haah..." He let out a dissapointed sigh.

"Bastard, how presumptuous!" Reynold was practically fuming at this point. As a Grand Duke, being robbed gave him a great feeling of humiliation. "This thief really has guts! I'll be sure to tear him to pieces when I find him!"

He then turned his attention to Noah and spoke in an apologetic voice. "Noah, don't worry! I'll definitely find the Phantasmal Beanstalk and return it to you unharmed!" In response, Noah courteously bowed. 

"Hearing old mister's words, I can completely relax. If there is anything, you can find me at the Primer Auction House. I'll be heading back for today." With a light bow and a smile, Noah began to walk away.

"Ah, just a moment." Charlotte suddenly called out to Noah. "I was just wondering... How many years did it take you to learn that? You look so young, after all..." Hearing Charlotte's question, Noah let out a small laugh as he responded.

"Around a year. I am only twenty years old right now. Haha." "Eh?" Everyone present looked shocked at what Noah just said. "Twenty.... years?" Charlotte felt her head going blank. 

She wasn't the only one. Eugene and Reynold were also just as shocked as her. "Ah, I'm afraid that I really have to leave now, please excuse me. Isabella from the Primer Family will likely explain everything later." 

With a courteous bow, Noah left under the respectful gazes of the guards. After some time, the three of them recovered from their shock.

“Ah, how unexpected. Such an talented boy, and only twenty years old at that...” Eugene spoke as he eyed the back of the young man in the distance. 

“Ah, he is indeed very amazing. To think that he is actually a year younger than me, and yet he's actually a middle grade Alchemist with monstrous talent..."

Charlotte nodded slightly. An admiration flashed across her pretty eyes. She was originally the top amongst those of the same age. 

After training at the Four Seasons Garden for so many years, she had never seen a person of the same age who could surpass her. 

Yet this young man named Noah was the first person at the same age as her to cause her to feel humbled. Twenty years old and already an Officer Rank Mage. In comparison to him, Charlotte's genius talent was simply not worth speaking about.

“Why? Do you feel that he is very good?” Eugene glanced at his daughter’s expression and teasingly said.

"Yes, he matches my granddaughter. It would be quite good if he became our Esford Family's son in law." Raynold added as well.

"Father, Grandfather, don't speak so carelessly!" Charlotte reddened a little in her face. Originally, although she found Noah pleasing to the eye, Charlotte thought that he was in actuality a lot older than her.

But after finding out that Noah is actually younger than her, coupled with the fact that he's a genius approved by her Father and Grandfather, and that he was polite and humble, and that he was also handsome...

[What am I thinking about! I don't even know him that well!] Charlotte shook her head and stopped thinking about it. However, she secretly decided to inquire about him with Isabella. The two girls were rather close, so Isabella would definitely not lie to her.

At the same time, Noah returned to the Primer Auction House. His condition now looked a lot better than before, as he kept chugging various healing potions after healing potions on the way.

Under the respectful gazes of the guards and servants, he returned to his room and asked to be left alone for a while to recover properly. 

Upon entering his room, he immediately put up some noise isolating spells and sat down in a cross legged position. He stopped after recovering 15% of his mana. "Good. Now, to get rid of you..." 

Noah looked at his right hand. One of the fingers on his hand had a small black spot on it. [I really underestimated the tenacity of this Branded Poison. Is this caused by a mutation due to staying inside a General Rank Mage for all these years?]

"But still, you lost..." This time, expelling the poison with his finger was way too easy. The small remnant of the Branded Poison was way too weak to do anything. Suddenly, an idea flashed through Noah's mind.

[Although this is a small remnant, maybe I would be able to increase it's size again?] He took out a small epruvete and cut his infected finger. Blood immediately began pouring inside the epruvete.

Next, Noah used the flame to guide the Branded Poison out of his body through the wound. A moment later, a small amount of black substance left Noah's wound and fell into the epruvete.

After verifying that his body was now free of the poison, Noah stored the epruvete into his spatial ring and continued his mana recovery. A few hours later, he finished.

Exiting his room, Noah first went to take a bath, before heading to Isabella's room. When he entered, he was greeted by a big smile and a luxurious meal. "Welcome back, Elder Noah. You were quite amazing today." 

"So you already know?" Noah replied as he sat down on the other chair. Outside, a moon shone brightly. "Indeed. The Esford Family has already sent us a big thank you reward. I have already reported this to the family."

"That's good. Hopefully, their opinion of me will improve now." Noah replied as he but some food into his mouth. "Hehe, of course they will. You've brought them so many benefits, after all." 

"And you don't have to worry about the Phantasmal Beanstalk. With Esford Family's position and resources, they'll find it in a short amount of time." Noah looked at the gorgeous lady in front of him. 

"You seem to wish to say something, lady Isabella." Hearing his words, Isabella's face showed a little shame. "Hehe, you saw right through me. I indeed have a request for you." 

"Is it about entering the Alchemist competition?" A sly smile appeared on Noah's face. "Oh, you knew?" Isabella looked at Noah with surprise. "It's written all over your face, hehe. I was planning to participate anyway." 

"You were? That's great!" Isabella happily smiled. "Then, please don't forget to mention that the Primer Family is your sponsor, ok?" Noah nodded as he drank a sip of tea. "But I'll do that tomorrow. Right now, I only need some rest. Today was an exhausting day." 

"That's fine. Rest easy today. I'll see you tomorrow~" Isabella blew Noah a small kiss as he exited. [What a lucky star Noah is for me. For years now, I've been stuck as an Acting Supervising Elder. Now, it's about time I climb the ranks a little.]

The Primer Family was different than other noble families. In other noble families, you would only have one family line representing the family name. 

However, the Primer Family didn't care about lineages, only about the amount of profits each member gained. The successful members would rise in ranks, while the failures were thrown out, usually never to return.

That way, the family would only keep the talented and useful members, ensuring that the family was always at the top. For that reason, they naturally didn't care about blood ties. Everything was based on your performance.

"Hehe, no one else will underestimate me now..." The smile on Isabella's face turned cold. The current her seemed to be unintentionally revealing her ambition and might.

At the same time, while Noah was getting a good night's sleep, the rest of the capital couldn't be more awake. Today, all forces in the capital received two massive shocks.

"Hey, did you hear about the new potion sold today at the Primer Auction House?" 

"Yea, I heard that it's called "Grine Water", and that it can bypass the mana bottleneck in ordinary people and promote you to Paragon Rank instantly."

"That's terrifying. Just imagine the number of new forces that could potentially rise in power overnight. Who even created such a potion?"

"I heard that it was invented by the new Guest Elder of the Primer Family. I think his name was Noah or something like that." 

"Indeed. Do you know what else I've heard? The Alchemist who invented Grine Water is a middle grade Alchemist, and he's only twenty years old!" 

"What?! Don't joke around, you had to have heard it wrong. There's no way that a twenty year old child could become an Officer Rank Mage."

"That was my response at first as well, but the Primer Auction House confirmed it. It's official." 

"What the hell... What kind of a monster is he? Are we looking at the new Medicine King? Perhaps someone who can surpass him in the future?" 

"Hey, these are the latest news! Have you seen that giant fire pillar this afternoon that came from the Esford Family mansion? It turns out that the new Guest Elder of the Primer Family actually expelled the Branded Poison from the Grand Duke Reynold himself!"

"What?! But how could he have done that?! Even the Medicine King wasn't confident in being able to expel the Branded Poison!"

"That level of flame control and concentration is only possible for Superior Grade Alchemists! How could a Middle Grade Alchemist possibly do that?" 

"That was my reaction at first as well. But... The Esford Family confirmed it. The Grand Duke Reynold is back to his full power. It's official."

"What the hell... Can we even classify him as a monster at this point? This is just ludicrous..."

"And he's only a Middle Grade Alchemist now. What would happen if he became a High Grade Alchemist? Or a Superior? Perhaps... Are we looking at a new Legendary Grade Alchemist?" 

"Is this the era of a new genius? Could it be possible?" 

"Hey, I just heard some news! The Primer Auction House just announced that their Guest Elder Noah will be representing them in the Alchemist competition!" 

"And they're confident in him taking first place!"

"How overbearing! But can any genius in the Brabet Kingdom even compare at this point?"

"So he's participating? I have to see that!"

The entire capital was completely swept up by the news. Even the Royal Family wasn't indifferent. Everyone wanted to find out more about this young man called Noah.

There were also some who had negative thoughts about him, but since he was a Guest Elder of one of the continent's top noble families, they could only swallow their feelings and grudges and avoid becoming enemies with him. 

After all, even the royalty would have to think twice about offending a continent's top noble family like the Primer Family.


	115. Chapter 115

At the place where two streets intersected, stood a very large building, which was perpetually shrouded by a faint medicinal-like fragrance. 

Above the towering main door was a plaque with ‘The Alchemist Guild’ written on it. It twinkled with a pale-silver glow that caused the passersby to involuntarily throw it a respectful gaze.

Being the headquarters of the The Alchemist Guild, even the king would have to be modest and courteous when he came to this place. 

After all, the people that lived within this building could create a force that was sufficient enough to shake the entire kingdom. 

At the large door of the Alchemist Guild, numerous Alchemists who were usually rarely seen were entering with hurried footsteps. Their bodies had various different tokens which proudly represented their grade.

Standing by the large door, Noah raised his head to look at the extremely majestic and imposing looking Alchemist Guild Headquarters. Such an imposing presence really lived up to its position as the headquarters for the Alchemists in the Brabet Kingdom.

Stepping into the main entrance of the Alchemist Guild, a rich medicinal fragrance pounced into Noah's nose. The fragrance caused people to involuntarily inhale a breath and with a refreshed feeling they would lift their eyes to check their surroundings.

The interior of the Alchemist Guild was extremely spacious. It was roughly divided into three areas, the east, south and west. 

On the eastern side of the large hall, there were many square counters that were neatly constructed using large amounts of green granite. 

Some Alchemists wearing long robes were seated behind these counters while many different kinds of medicinal ingredients, glass bottles, scrolls, etc, were placed on top of these counters. 

Looking at the appearance, it seemed to belong to the region for trading and the place to scour for treasure.

The southern part of the large hall, on the other hand, had quite a number of cauldrons. Some Alchemists were behind the cauldrons, controlling the flame with serious expressions. 

Completely surrounding them were some low grade Alchemists. As they pointed out different things to one another, they were exchanging their refining experience.

The western side of the hall was undoubtedly quieter compared to the other two sides. At the aisle, there were even some guards standing. 

It appeared that only Alchemists who had reached a certain grade had the qualifications to enter. When some low grade Alchemists occasionally passed by, they would throw over a respectful and envious gaze.

Noah slowly walked into the hall. His gaze wandered all around. After thinking for a moment, he lifted his leg and headed to the trading and scouring treasure region. 

After walking into the eastern area, Noah slowly walked in front of the square counters placed all around. 

His gaze contained curiosity as he weighed these many rare medicinal ingredients and other things that he had only seen in books before.

Although this place was named as a trading and treasure scouring area, the people who were selling here did not shout out loudly like the shop owners at the marketplaces. 

All of them sat on their chairs in a laid-back manner. Occasionally, their gaze would glance over at the people standing in front of their counter. 

If they felt that the other party may have some economic foundation, some of the Alchemists who were selling would stand up and converse with them. 

However, most of them still lazily shrunk back onto their chairs. This kind of laid-back and lazy manner totally did not look like a merchant selling something. 

Of course, they were not merchants. What they needed was not the gold coins or other treasures that the merchants coveted. Instead, they wanted to exchange their things for other items.

If one wanted to obtain the necessary medicinal ingredients or medicinal potion from their hands, one must take out a rare and unique treasures that they were interested in.

During Noah’s slow walk, he was able to feast his eyes on the many different kinds of rare and unique medicinal ingredients and potions. 

Among the medicinal ingredients, he even saw a few of the medicinal ingredients needed to refine the ‘Tears of Mary'. Being driven by curiosity, he went forward and inquired. 

It was expected that the old man selling merely glanced at him and indifferently mentioned a middle grade potion. Therefore, Noah presented his small collection to the old man.

The old man's eyes shined, and a few minutes later, Noah walked away with the medicinal ingredients. [I can make a few Tears of Mary with these ingredients. I only need human souls now.]

As Noah slowly walked around this area of boundless treasures, he looked left and right and had made quite good gains in knowledge.

Just when he was about to leave the area and sign up for the competition, a familiar figure passed by him. [Isn't that?]

The young woman he saw was actually Natalie that he met back in Cold Wind Fortress. She was also the personal disciple of Matilda, a High Grade Alchemist.

Noah did not have any intention of going over to greet her. Instead, he turned around and headed to the outside of the scouring treasure area.

Before he was about to leave the scouring treasure area, Noah's footsteps suddenly stopped at a corner that was close to the door. 

He turned his head and eyed a somewhat tattered rock counter by the corner. He frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment and slowly walked over.

Behind the rock counter was a skinny man whose appearance was a little wretched. 

Due to the medicinal ingredients that were displayed being not too rare, there were very few people who had come over to examine them. 

Therefore, his face had some bitterness. When he saw Noah slowly walking over, he was a little blank. His eyes became much brighter when his eyes drifted over to the iron token that dangled around Noah’s neck. He hurriedly stood up and eyed Noah fawningly.

“Sir, what do you need?” Seeing Noah stopping in front of the rock counter, the man hurriedly asked. 

Noah lowered his head and swept across the rock counter. Some of the medicinal ingredients that were stored in the glass bottles were even a little wilted. 

They naturally could not satisfy an Alchemist’s discerning eyes. Therefore, he automatically omitted them. His hand slowly moved along the things on the rock counter one at a time. 

Finally, under the somewhat disappointed gaze of the skinny man, it paused above a piece of green colored broken piece of metal that looked extremely unattractive.

Noah's gaze stared lazily at this green colored broken metal piece. He randomly held it in his hand. The metal piece that entered his hand was not smooth. 

Instead, it was covered with tiny granules and appeared as if the material was not very good. Moreover, there were some faint crack lines on the metal piece. Between the gaps there were even some soil stains.

As he played with the small piece, Noah’s eyebrows were knit together. From his senses, he appeared to feel that this thing was somewhat strange. 

However, he was unable to say why it was strange. He released his mana sense and wrapped it around the piece of metal. 

Suddenly, Noah felt a strange suction force, as if his soul was pulled out of his body. The scenery around him changed. From the skinny man behind a stone counter, the scenery in front of Noah now was a huge city!

Noah looked around with a baffled expression. He had never seen anything like this. The buildings weren't similar to anything he had ever seen. 

They were over a hundred floors tall, and were made out of a different material than stone or magical materials.

The streets were filled with people and Ranked Mages alike, even the Officer Rank Mages walked around like ordinary people, gaining no worship from the surrounding pedestrians.

Next to the pedestrians walked strange metal men that carried the people's belongings for them. The metal men looked much more modern than even the dwarves' most lethal machines.

Looking above, Noah noticed that the sky was filled with strange flying vehicles with a weird shape. What surprised him more was that the vehicles didn't have any place for inputting mana crystals. 

[Vehicles that don't use mana crystals as a source of fuel? What's more, the sheer amount... I'm sure that even the entire continent doesn't have this many flying ships...]

A peaceful atmosphere permeated the strange city. Even if Noah couldn't hear anything, he was still certain of that. [What is this? No record of the past nor the future I've seen ever mentioned such an advanced city...]

As Noah was looking, suddenly, the metal men besides the pedestrians began writhing in what seemed like pain. Under the shocked gazes of the pedestrians, the metal men actually began attacking them!

Immediately, a terrifying slaughter ensued. The metal men grabbed the pedestrians close by, and would then tear off the pieces of bodies they grabbed. Arms, legs, cheeks, eyes, throats, genitalia... The metal men now behaved like vicious, primitive monsters.

The flying vehicles began crashing down on the street, exploding and destroying chunks of the buildings. The Ranked Mages attacked the metal men, and destroyed them with relative ease.

After the destruction of all the metal men, the Ranked Mages suddenly noticed a disturbance in the air. Their faces warped in horror as the looked at the air warping and cracking. 

A few moments later, the air suddenly broke, and a blood red portal opened in the middle of the street! The Ranked Mages prepared their spells. Their faces were filled with sweat as they talked with each other about something.

Suddenly, a literal river of demons poured out of the red portal, washing away the Ranked Mages! Only the Officer Rank Mages survived and counter attacked. 

But their attacks were short lived, as soon enough, Officer Rank Demons also rushed out of the portal.

After an intense battle, the Demons prevailed, tearing the Ranked Mages into pieces and pulling out their souls and eating them. The low grade demons ate the organs before screaming and swarming across the rest of the city.

[A demon invasion? This shouldn't be... What is the World Will doing?] As Noah was wondering, a person's voice reached him, interrupting the scenery in front of him. With static noises, the scenery collapsed, and Noah was back into the real world.

"Um, Sir? Are you alright?" The man behind the counter slowly inquired. Noah blinked with his eyes. He noticed that his face was covered in sweat. He eyed the small piece of metal in his hand.

[There seems to be a memory inside this piece of metal. I have to see the full memory!] Noah turned his gaze onto the man. 

His hand randomly chose a few medicinal ingredients that looked barely acceptable. After which, he waved at the young man, smiled and asked. “Do you want to exchange for items or sell them?”

“Sir, I want to exchange them for a low grade potion.” Hearing this, the young man’s spirit rose. Immediately, he smiled awkwardly as he spoke. 

He knew in his heart that these medicinal ingredients did not appear to be worth a low grade potion. Noah indifferently glanced at him. He placed the things in his hands into the spatial ring. 

After which, he easily took out a bottle which had a green colored liquid inside and tossed it to the man. “This is a middle grade potion that can be used for attacking. The liquid inside is corrosive. I don't have a low grade potion, so I hope you can accept this."

The man scrambled to received the bottle. A joy that was difficult to hide appeared on his face. He didn't expect that Noah would actually give him something so valuable in exchange for some trash ingredients.

Counting in this manner, he had profited by a lot. Immediately, he hurriedly bent his body toward Noah who was already walking off and bowed. [Now that I think about it, doesn't that Sir look familiar?] He wondered to himself.

Noah left the counter in this area and headed out of the eastern area. His finger rubbed on the spatial ring and the piece of green colored broken metal piece once again appeared in his palm. 

He frowned and played with it in his hand. [I don't know what exactly this is, but I'll be sure to research all of it's secrets after the Alchemist competition.]

The primary goal Noah needed to focus on was killing Callum. The memory can wait for later. Standing in the middle of the hall, Noah was at a loss as he looked around him. 

He mused for a moment before pulling over a pretty woman who appeared to be a female servant and inquired about the position of the Head of the Alchemist Guild Branch.

Her finger pointed at the western area where the human flow was extremely low. “That place is the area where the heads of the various Alchemist Guild Branches in the Brabet Kingdom are. However, only middle grade Alchemists and above have the qualification to enter.”

"Thank you very much.” Noah said his thanks, lifted his feet and walked toward the quiet western area. When he was about to enter, he was unsurprisingly blocked by the two guards at the entrance.

“May I trouble you to help me inform the head manager from Cold Wind Fortress that Xander has come to see them.” Eyeing the two icy expressions of the guards, Noah said with a smile.

They nodded slightly and after asking him to wait, one of them stepped back and swiftly climbed up some stairs.

Noah inserted his hands into his sleeves as he stood at the entrance. His eyes were closed as he quietly waited.

Not long after the guard climbed up the stairs, a wave of hurried footsteps swiftly sounded. A moment later, an old figure was first to appear in Noah’s sight. A joy covered his face.


	116. Chapter 116

The old man quickly came to the entrance. His gaze swept around but did not see the person that he wanted to meet. 

The smile on his face stiffened as he frowned. He faced the guard beside him and softly reproved, “Where is he? Don’t tell me that he was ousted by you people?”

“Old man Solomon.” Hearing the old man reprove, Noah smiled and spoke. “You…” Hearing the somewhat familiar voice, Solomon was at a loss. His gaze doubtfully eyed this young stranger in front of him. 

A long while later, he finally said in a stunned voice. “Xander? Why have you turned yourself into this appearance?”

Noah smiled and shook his head. "I go by Noah now. We should talk inside. There are many eyes here." 

“Uh… follow me in.” Hearing this, Solomon took the hint and nodded. He turned his head to the two guards. “The both of you heard nothing. Do you understand?”

Seeing Solomon’s fierce and vicious manner, the two cold faced guards bitterly smiled. Immediately, they wisely nodded their heads. After being guards for so many years, they naturally knew what was taboo.

Following behind Solomon, Noah slowly walked up the stairs. Only when the human flow around them became scarce did Solomon open his mouth.

"Xan- er, I mean, Noah. Why have you changed your identity? Don’t tell me that you have offended someone? Tell me about it. In this Brabet Sacred City, the words from me do have some influence."

“Hehe, thank you Old Man Solomon. It's no one from the Brabet Kingdom, so you don't have to worry.” Noah shook his head and rejected Solomon’s good intention.

“So it’s like this? Then it’s up to you.” Hearing Noah’s intention to reject, Solomon did not insist. "Now that I think about it, I heard that the capital was recently shaken by the appearance of a new genius Alchemist by the same name. Is it you?"

"I was seen through." Noah lightly laughed. Solomon let out a big sigh. "Boy, do you know what kind of shock you've caused? Even the Royal Family is interested in that Grine Water of yours, and let's not even mention you expelling the Branded Poison. You're pretty much comparable to me, you know."

"I think you're overestimating me. If flame control and concentration was all it took, why would I still be a Middle Grade Alchemist?" Hearing Noah's reply, Solomon nodded in confirmation.

[Tsk tsk, what a great little boy. This kind of talent really stuns everyone. I wonder which old monster had the luck to find such a good student.] Solomon mumbled to himself. His face was filled with envy.

“We’ve arrived.” Their footsteps walked past a few luxurious large rooms and finally stopped outside of a spacious room.

When Solomon heard the scolding voice emitted from inside, he smiled. “This is Matilda reprimanding Natalie. That girl actually wasted most of her mana crystals on a bunch of trash. Matilda almost fainted..."

Noah stepped into this spacious room. His gaze swept across it and finally stopped at the middle of the room. There, Matilda, who was wearing an Alchemist’s long robe, was sending her saliva flying everywhere. 

Her old face was green as she furiously slammed the table. In front of her, Natalie’s hands were holding some cosmetic products while she remained silent and allowed Matilda to scold her angrily.

When she heard the door opening, she swiftly shifted her gaze over. Her sight swept across Noah’s body behind Solomon. 

Immediately, she murmured with the corner of her mouth. “Old Man Solomon, is this the person who requested for you to personally go down to receive him? What courage he has.”

Hearing her voice, Matilda, who was giving a big reprimand immediately paused. Her gaze turned to Noah. “Old Man, who is this?” Seeing his manner, they were apparently ignorant of who was coming up when the guard had informed them.

Seeing the two women's surprised gazes, Noah lightly laughed. “It's been a year, Matilda, Natalie. I see you two haven't changed.”

“That voice... Xander? It is actually you, little fellow. I thought you wouldn’t be coming.” Eyeing the face that looked completely different compared to a year ago, Matilda was stunned before she immediately said with great joy.

“Noah. The reason for your coming to the Brabet Scared City should be because of the Alchemist Grand Meeting, right?” Old Man Solomon sat on a chair and inquired.

Hearing these words, the eyes of Matilda at the side also brightened. She hurriedly turned her gaze toward Noah. She naturally knew what kind of outstanding talent in Alchemy this little fellow possessed. 

If he wanted to participate in the Alchemist Grand Meeting, he would be a popular choice of becoming the champion.

"Indeed. That's why I'm here. But, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I don't know what benefits do I get as a champion?" Noah put on a wry smile as he sat down on a nearby chair.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Solomon didn't mind it, so he began explaining. “If you are able to stand out in the Alchemist Grand Meeting, an unknown number of strong forces will invite you to join them, and your reputation and status in the Brabet Kingdom would swiftly be raised.”

“You should know that the Medicine King came to fame in such a manner back then.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t like to join and be burdened by any strength.” Noah shook his head in refusal. “Therefore, please tell me what kind of substantial benefits there are.”

"Hoho, that's the spirit! Us Alchemists should focus more on Alchemy instead of working for someone else." Solomon laughed to himself. 

"Other rewards include becoming an Honorary Elder of the Alchemist Guild. There are very few of them, and their positions are right below Superior Grade Alchemists. You'd pretty much be on the same level as the Medicine King." 

Noah's finger that was tapping the table’s surface suddenly paused. He pursed up his lips and the glow in his eyes flickered. After Solomon had said up to this point, Noah’s heart had gradually felt a little moved.

Seeing that Noah was obviously somewhat interested, Solomon smiled. He threw the last temptation. “Additionally, the reward for the champion this season would be a medicinal formula for a High Grade potion.”

“A medicinal formula for a High Grade potion?” Noah looked even more interested. "What kind of medicinal formula? What use does it have?” 

"'Thawing Spirit Potion’, a kind of High Grade potion that can let the spirit and the physical body merge together. Not only that, but it is also able to increase your mana quality.”

“Mana quality?” Noah was now extremely interested. Another potion that can increase mana quality. His heart gradually jumped intensely.

[Human, get your hands on the medicinal formula for this Thawing Spirit Potion and I will not kill you in the future!]

Just as Noah was moved by these two ample conditions, his hands, which were in the sleeves, suddenly became cold. A weak mind message that carried some enchanting taste was transmitted into his mind.

The sudden appearance of the enchanting voice caused Noah's eyes to twitch in surprise. A cool air swiftly shrouded his chest, causing his entire body to become icy cold. 

He recognized the owner of the voice. It was shockingly from Queen Medusa who was hidden within the body of the seven-colored snake.

The weak, enchanting voice resounded within Noah’s mind, causing his body to feel an icy chill. The hand in his sleeves trembled slightly without being noticed. 

Noah slowly let out a breath and did his best to prevent his heart from increasing it's beating. [What an annoyance. Perhaps I should tweak my brain a little in the future...]

A while later, he gradually calmed down and calmly asked in his mind. [Oh, Your Highness, you're awake. You also want the medicinal formula?]

After the words went through, however, all remained quiet. Queen Medusa did not give any response. He once again shouted a couple of times in his mind. 

However, it was like a rock sinking into the ocean. After trying like this for a few times, he could only choose to give up. His fingers curled and flicked on the table surface as a thought began to rotate in his mind. 

The effect of the Thawing Spirit Potion was to let the spirit and the physical body merge together. The reason for Queen Medusa to be so concerned was naturally because of her and the seven-colored small snake. This was something Noah was clear of.

However… if Queen Medusa was really allowed to obtain the Thawing Spirit Potion, wouldn’t she be able to control the seven-colored snake's body? When that time comes, who's to say that she really won't kill him?

Although she said that she would not kill him, Noah obviously did not believe her. However, if Noah did not comply with Queen Medusa’s request, his relationship with her may well grow even worse. 

Once Queen Medusa appears again in the future, Noah’s situation would really be extremely terrible. Should he agree or disagree?

Noah mused for a long while before his finger abruptly tapped on the table surface. He raised his head and eyed Solomon in front of him. "That's all rather tempting, I must admit."

Regardless of what happened, he could only get his hands on the medicinal formula first. Once he had the medicinal formula, the next step was naturally to refine the potion.

What worried Noah was that Queen Medusa might just kill him and take the formula for herself. He didn't know if the Snake-People had their own Alchemists or could perhaps pay a High Grade Alchemist to make it for them. [I'll cross that bridge when I get there...]

"Where do I register?" Hearing Noah's question, Solomon's expression brightened. Noah had registered as an Alchemist at their branch. If they were to get him to represent the Cold Wind Fortress Branch when joining the Alchemist Grand Meeting, it would naturally add glory to their branch. 

In that case, they would gain a huge advancement in performance ranking for the branches next year. Also, Solomon will naturally gain his own benefits. 

“But I have a condition…” Noah suddenly said as he faced the old man who was full of smiles. “Uh? Why don’t you tell me…” Hearing this, Solomon asked with interest.

"I will be using the appearance that you see me in now to participate in the Grand Meeting. I would also like to trouble the both of you to change my participant name from the old Xander to Noah. Is that possible?” Noah rubbed his face and said with a smile.

“Hey, if you are participating, just participate. Why are you doing all these shady things?” On one side, Natalie held her cheeks and spoke with curled up lips. Noah smiled, but did not reply to her. He simply stared at Solomon with his eyes, awaiting his answer.

“Changing your name is a small problem…” Solomon nodded his head. “Looks like you appear to have gotten into some trouble. If you have anything that needs our help, you can tell us. If we can help you, we will do our best to.”

Noah smiled and shook his head. He did not want to continue to be entangled by this topic. “But you should all not place too much hope on me. I'm not the Medicine King, and I'm still far from a High Grade Alchemist."

Hearing Noah's words, Solomon shook his head. "What are you saying? I would be surprised if anyone else thought that you'd lose. There are many talented youngsters who will participate, but I'm certain that you're the best among them!"

Noah smiled wryly. [If only you knew who will end up participating...] "When will the Grand Meeting begin?” 

“Three days later. During this period of time, we will remain here. If you have any problems, remember to come and find us.” Matilda butted in and replied.

[Three days? Callum should be arriving in the capital at around this time...] Noah stood up and quickly excused himself.

Eyeing the back that was gradually disappearing behind the door, a sinister smile appeared on Solomon and Matilda's faces. "Hehe, Old Man Solomon, looks like we can ask for an exorbitant sum for our funds next year from the headquarters."

“And those rare medicinal ingredients... I can't wait to rip off all those old skeletons of all their worth, hehehe...” Solomon smiled viciously. Seeing their behavior, Natalie helplessly shook her head.


	117. Chapter 117

Noah walked directly out of the Alchemist Guild. He stood on the street and looked in all directions. After musing for a moment, he lifted his feet and headed to the Primer Auction House.

As he was walking though, he received a message from Isabella's magic imprint. "Yes?" "Elder Noah, my men found your friend that you told us to look out for. I have received notice that he just got out of the flying transportation company."

"Thank you for your help, Isabella. He didn't notice them, did he?" "Of course not. My men aren't push overs." A bewitching voice drifted from the magic imprint. "Please send my regards to your friend."

"Of course. I must go now." Closing his diary, Noah's brows furrowed as he hurried up to the flying transportation company. On the way, he constantly released his mana sense.

......

The flying bird monster slowly flapped it's wings as it landed. Among the various Alchemists that exited the small house atop the bird was a youngster in mercenary clothes.

He looked somewhat ordinary and lacked any unique trait that might invite the interest of women. Two light green curious eyes observed the humongous city in front. "The capital is indeed different."

The young boy looked around aimlessly. The busy atmosphere of the capital was something that he was not used to. He much more preferred the quiet countryside under his family's governance.

A tall mountain in the far distance drew his gaze. He snorted at the mountain disdainfully and turned his attention elsewhere. [I'll pay you back, Charlotte Esford. No one gets to insult my family like that.]

The boy looked at a small silver spatial ring on his finger. A smile would appear on his face every time he thought of what was inside. "Hehe, who would've known that a trash cripple would end up creating a brand new invention."

"After I publish this formula, I'm going to earn so much money that girls will throw themselves at me! Hehe, I can't wait to live as a rich person!" The boy's smile became a little lecherous.

Suddenly, something caught his sight. The boy saw that the ordinary people, the so called "mortals", would always get out of the way of the Ranked Mages with fearful expressions. Seeing this, his expression sank.

"So even in the capital, the ordinary people still have to indulge the arrogance of the Ranked Mages." The boy remembered the dark memories of his life. He glanced at his legs, and his hand touched a spot right below his heart.

"One day, I'll change it all." The boy muttered to himself. He was now walking aimlessly in search of a place to stay. His bronze token dangled around his neck, inviting respectful glances from the surrounding Paragon Rank Mages.

The boy didn't actually like the special attention he received. He would merely snort, causing the surrounding Mages to wonder what caused this Alchemist to be in a foul mood.

[I should first find a place to stay. Then, I have to register for the Alchemist competition. How should I publish my formula though?] As the boy was thinking to himself, he suddenly collided with someone.

*Bam* "Ouch!" The boy fell on the floor. [What did I just hit into, a metal wall?] "Auff!" As the boy was trying to stand up, he heard a young man's pained groan. "Oh, sorry about that..."

Looking over, the boy saw a fat young man stand up and offer him a hand. The fat young man looked like a ball of flesh with short hair and small arms. On his face was an apologetic smile.

"Ah, it's no problem." The boy answered. Just as he was about to grab his hand, the fat young man's expression suddenly turned grave. "Ah, an Alchemist! I'm so sorry, Your Excellency!" Seeing the bronze token, the fat young man began bowing continuously.

"Ah, please, you don't have to bow." The boy placed his arms on the fat young man and reassured him. "Ah really? Thank you, Your Excellency, you're so kind!" The fat young man who looked like he was going to cry instantly cheered up.

"Ah, it's my first time here, do you know any good places to spend the night?" The boy asked. "Of course! Allow me to apologise for my clumsiness by giving you a tour of the capital. I've been here for some time, so I know my way around!" 

"Also, what is your name, Your Excellency?" "Haha, you can drop the 'Excellency' part. Call me Callum. Callum Martyr." Hearing Callum's introduction, the fat young man showed a strange smile that went unnoticed.

"I am Cedric Gregory. Who would've thought I would meet a fellow noble here. Come, follow me, Callum." With a wave of a hand, Callum followed behind the fat young man.

Cedric was a very friendly and easy-going man. He led Callum around the entire capital, showing him the most important parts of the city. Callum was quite grateful to the man for his help. "And this is the Esford Family mansion."

Callum looked over and his expression darkened, but he tried to hide it from Cedric's sight. "Haah. You should've seen what happened here a few days prior. A giant tornado of fire flew out from over there." Cedric sighed in admiration.

"A tornado of fire? Was it a fight?" Callum was greatly interested in what Cedric just said. "No. For years now, the old Grand Duke Reynold Esford was infected by the terrifying Branded Poison. Some time ago, he collapsed and was on the brink of death."

"Really?" Callum asked. "Even the great Medicine King wasn't able to heal him. But, just a few days ago, a new Guest Elder of the Primer Family expelled the poison and cured the old man."

"Even the Medicine King wasn't able to?" Callum gasped. The Medicine King was known as a High Grade Alchemist. Was this Guest Elder of the Primer Family a Superior Grade Alchemist?

"Do you know what's terrifying? The Guest Elder is actually a twenty year old Middle Grade Alchemist!" Hearing Cedric's words, Callum was taken aback. "Really?"

"Yes. And what's more, he invented a new potion that can instantly allow an ordinary person to breakthrough to Paragon Rank! He's now the talk of the whole capital." While Cedric was speaking, he didn't notice that Callum's face became blank.

[Doesn't that sound like what I created?] Callum's hands trembled. He began thinking that perhaps someone stole his formula and published it as his own. "Um, Cedric, when did he publish the formula?" 

"At most a week prior to today. Why do you ask?" "Oh, it's nothing." Callum waved his hand nonchalantly. [I didn't even come up with the formula until a few days prior. I was still flying towards the capital then.]

After thinking to himself for a while, Callum eventually gave up. [Forget it. Although this all sounds suspicious, I'll just chalk it up to a pure coincidence for now.] Seeing Callum in silence, Cedric seemed to have gotten an idea.

"Ah, Callum, I don't know what you're thinking about, but I suggest that you don't try to plagiarize that guy. He has the backing of the Primer Family, and killing you won't take him much effort." Seeing the fat young man's fearful expression, Callum lightly laughed.

"Haha, I wasn't thinking of doing that, of course. I'm not a lowly person like that." However, inside, Callum sighed. [It looks like my rich life will have to wait for a while...]

The two youngsters spent the rest of the day talking and walking around the capital. At the end of the day, Cedric led Callum to a hotel for ordinary people. "Are you sure you wish to stay here? In the Black Market, there are much better hotels than here."

Callum simply waved his hand in response. "It's fine. I prefer it like this anyway." "Well, I won't say anything anymore. Have a good night, and don't forget, you have only two days to register for the Alchemist competition. I wish you luck."

"Haha, thanks, I won't forget. Good night." Callum said his goodbyes and went inside the hotel. After a good dinner, he slept in the most luxurious hotel room available. [What a life.] He sighed.

[Who would've thought I would eventually become a Ranked Mage.] He pulled out a small pendant put of his robes and opened it. Inside was a picture of a woman.

[Mother, it's been quite a journey. Your son has not dissapointed you. I will become a champion of the Alchemist competition and I will bring glory to my family.] With a light kiss on the picture, Callum fell asleep. 

......

In the deep night, a figure returned to the Primer Auction House. The guards respectfully bowed to him and let him pass without trouble. Noah went straight to his room and lied on the bed.

"It went well. It's a shame, but I probably am not able to kill him right now." Noah's face darkened. He wasn't sure why, but the whole time that he was around Callum, he could feel that the boy was dangerous, even for him.

Even if Noah sneak attacked, he was certain that Callum would somehow survive for long enough to attract the guards over. By that time, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Just what has the World Will given to that guy?" Noah was glad that he didn't try to attack. This meant that he could only defeat Callum in the Alchemist competition two days later. "But I'm not too confident in winning against him like this..."

He pulled out the ancient Alchemy book out of his spatial ring and opened it. "The language of Terrestrial Elves is quite troublesome to translate. Moreover, this book is mostly unreadable. All the information is incomplete, apart from the recipe for Tears of Mary..."

Noah could tell that the information present within the book most likely belonged to a High Grade Alchemist or perhaps even higher. The methods explained inside were definitely unusual, so that was why Noah concluded so.

"Using fire as a cauldron? What does that mean? This whole section is barely readable, I don't understand anything..." After hours of constant reading and research, Noah ended up with nothing but that one sentence.

"Forget it, I should just ask Old Man Solomon tommorow. He should know what that phrase means." With a light sigh, Noah fell asleep.


	118. Chapter 118

After exiting the Primer Auction House, Noah stood on the street and took a look all around him. He then lifted his footsteps and walked toward the towering building of the Alchemist Guild where one would at least be able to see a corner of it from afar.

During the walk there, Noah realized that some of the main roads in the city already had completely armed Kingdom Knight units patrolling. Clearly, this was due to the Alchemist Grand Meeting which was about to begin. 

After all, if a commotion were to occur at such a large grand meeting, it would have many different large impacts to the kingdom. Therefore, the Royal Family needed to prevent any such possibilities.

After slowly walking past a few wide streets, the large Alchemist Guild finally appeared in Noah’s sight. Eyeing the entrance which was even more packed compared to two days ago, he rolled his eyes. 

It appeared that there were many Alchemists who wished to reveal their brilliance at this Grand Meeting. With both his hands behind his back, Noah slowly began entering the Guild. 

He turned his footsteps and squeezed through the human crowd. He had followed the human flow and almost entered the Guild when a disturbance occurred not far behind him. The surrounding gazes were thrown over.

The human flow at the front had stopped entering and Noah was plugged up at the middle. He helplessly sighed, frowned slightly and turned his head around to watch the source of the commotion.

The source of the commotion was a horse carriage that had a great noble aura. In front of the horse carriage, there were two horses which had snow white hair without the slightest impurities quietly pulling it. 

A strange beast which had a blue colored flame rising from its body was drawn on the golden yellow brocade surrounding the horse carriage. 

The strange beast was of a large size and it had a ferocious appearance, emitting a feeling that would faintly frighten the hearts of those who looked at it. "The crest of the Royal Family..."

Surrounding the horse carriage, there were over ten people wrapped entirely in grey robes accompanying it. Noah’s gaze swept across these grey robed people and noticed that those people were all Officer Rank Mages.

A grey robed person stepped forward and respectfully lifted the carriage curtain. When the grey robed person did this, Noah could clearly sense the other grey robed people had already swifty formed a steady circle during the slight movement, guarding the horse carriage in the middle of them. 

At the same time, numerous gazes that were as sharp as an eagle shot out from the grey robed people as they swept back and forth in front of the surrounding packed human crowd.

Under the watch of the surrounding people, a woman's delicate hand was extended out from the carriage. It gracefully held the handle of the carriage door. After which, a beautiful figure slowly walked out and appeared in everyone’s sight.

The person who appeared was wearing a purple colored dress that had silver colored lines embedded in it. Her exquisite appearance, under the influence of the Royal Family, faintly seeped out a noble imposing presence that was her birthright. 

A purple colored belt was worn on her waist, displaying the small waist vividly. Her age did not appear to be very old, appearing a little bit older than Noah. 

Her pretty face contained a smile, appearing elegant and serene. However, each time her gaze swept across the surroundings, Noah was able to discover that this young lady who looked very ladylike had a strange smile flashing across her eyes. Clearly, this was different from the surface she showed which seemed to like quietness.

“Ooh, what a beautiful girl...” Watching the young lady which had appeared, a wave of cheers was immediately erupted from the surrounding human crowd. 

A number of heated gazes were swiftly thrown over. Although the lady’s status was extremely noble, it did not appear to be inappropriate to take advantage of the large crowd and allow their eyes to be a little impudent.

Under the protection of the group of grey robed people, that purple dressed young lady passed through the packed human crowd without meeting any obstruction. After which, she entered into the Alchemist Guild.

As the back of the young lady which appeared elegant disappeared from his sight, Noah shrugged his shoulders and twisted his body slightly. 

Like a loach, he squeezed past the surrounding human crowd without leaving a trace as he swiftly leaped into the interior of the association.

The two guards from the last time were still present at the entrance to the western area. When they saw Noah arrive, they did not stop him like they did before. 

After bowing and greeting him, they did not bother him when he entered. Looking at this situation, it appeared that Solomon had already gave them specific instructions for Noah.

Noah walked into the corridor and slowly climbed up the stairs. Finally, he stopped outside Solomon’s room from the last time. 

He knocked softly on the door, waited for Solomon’s voice from inside before pushing it open and entering. Only Solomon was seated in the room. At that moment, he was watching Noah who had entered with a smile. 

"Noah, it's you. Do you have any more questions about the Alchemist competition?" Noah sat on the chair and sighed. "Old Man Solomon, I have been researching some things about Alchemy these days, and I found a phrase "using fire as a cauldron" in one of the books. Do you know anything about this?"

Following Noah's question, a surprised expression covered Solomon's face. "That is a method used by High and Superior Grade Alchemists. It's not exactly public knowledge. Where did you find that?"

"Oh, I have a friend who helped me out with that, hehe." Seeing that Noah didn't want to answer, Solomon sighed and began explaining. 

"Using fire as a cauldron means using your fire to purify multiple ingredients at the same time before fusing them into the liquid without the need for the cauldron. This method shortens the time for making a potion, but if you make even the tinniest mistake, the potion will definitely fail."

Solomon then stopped speaking, letting Noah digest the information. "Would you like to see for yourself?" He asked. "Please." Noah responded immediately with great interest.

"Hoho, follow me. I'll show you then." The two of them walked out of the room and walked along a quiet corridor for a short while. Once they were at the end, they pushed opened a door by the side and slowly entered.

Appearing in front of them was a spacious inner hall which was decorated in quite a classical manner. At the moment, the inner hall had some people standing in twos and threes. 

Noah’s gaze swept across these people and he noticed that many of these people, who appeared quite young, were actually at the level of a Middle Grade Alchemist. 

The kingdom’s little princess whom he had saw at the main entrance some time ago was also among them. His gaze rotated once again and with raised eyebrows, finally stopped on a handsome looking young man who was conversing with a few Middle Grade Alchemists.

The man was wearing an Alchemist long robe. His age was also quite young and his figure was tall and straight, appearing only slightly over twenty years old. His hair was blonde, and anyone could tell that he took good care of it.

His handsome face had lines that seemed to be carved by a knife, emitting a somewhat feminine feeling. The gentle smile on his face also had an easy time moving some ladies’ hearts. 

Hearing the sound of the door opening, everyone in the hall who was whispering privately ceased their conversations. Their gaze turned toward the door. 

When they saw Noah enter, they were all momentarily stunned. Their gazes then drifted toward the iron token on his neck and a Primer Family badge on his chest and their expressions immediately changed rapidly.

The little princess, who was surrounded by a few Alchemists in a manner similar to stars arching around the moon, also glanced at Noah. An interested and somewhat excited expression appeared on her face.

Noah smiled politely to the princess and the blond man, but his attention wasn't on them, but on a young boy leaning on the wall separated from everyone else, Callum!

Just then, Callum's eyes also accidentally met Noah's. Tiny sparks seemingly appeared between the two. Noah then averted his eyes and didn't pay attention to anyone anymore.

“Hey, Old Man, have you also brought someone over?” During the time that the atmosphere in the hall was very quiet, an old laugh rang out.

Noah followed the voice and shifted his gaze. He realized that there were some old people wearing Alchemist robes standing with smiles on a high platform positioned on the left side of the hall. 

The voice from before came from one of the snow white haired old men. “That is the branch manager of the Brabet Sacred City branch, Dolorin. He is also the little princess’s teacher.” 

Solomon smiled and waved to the old man before turning his head and speaking to Noah. “Ah.” Noah nodded slightly.

“Follow me to meet those old fellows. They are people who possess great capability all over the continent.” As Solomon spoke, he led the way toward the towering platform at the side. 

The two swiftly walked up the tall platform. Solomon sat down and conversed with those old people around his age for some time. Noah quietly stood behind him and did not take any initiative to step forward and greet them.

“Old Man. Is this the competitor representing your Cold Wind Fortress this time around?” After conversing with a smile for a while, The old man with snow white colored hair smiled as he looked at Noah standing to the side.

Although he tried to appear as indifferent as possible, the old man Dolorin couldn't help but throw an envious expression towards Solomon.

"Ay, you old bag of bones, what are you looking at with those greedy eyes. He already registered at Cold Wind Fortress, so he isn't yours to take." Solomon replied with some annoyance.

"Hmph, did you take him as your personal disciple or something? If not, let me take my chance." Dolorin continued unperturbed. "No. Begone." With a stern wave of a hand, Solomon ended the conversation right then and there.

"Haah, fine fine... I did steal your girl all those years ago, so I guess we are even now..." Dolorin mumbled to himself. "What did you say?" "Oh, nothing." Noah, who had enhanced hearing thanks to his Evil God bloodline, heard pretty much everything. [What an interesting story...]

Soon enough, the preliminary examination started, and Solomon led Noah to a different room. It was an empty room with only a table inside. 

Solomon stood in front of the table and pulled out a glass bottle and a bundle of magical ingredients from his spatial ring. "Watch closely now. I'll show you what you want. Using fire as a cauldron."

Noah stood on the side and watched closely at the old man start. His eyes didn't leave a single detail of his movements unrecorded.

Once all the ingredients were neatly arranged on the table, Solomon summoned small flames on his fingers. Just like Noah when he was expelling the Branded Poison, Solomon controlled the small flames with his mana sense and made them flow in midair.

For every ingredient there was one flame. With his mana sense, Solomon moved the flames and inserted them into the supplementary ingredients in the table, making them fly in midair.

The ingredients began flying in circles, and at the same time, they were being purified. After around fifteen minutes of purification, Solomon turned the ingredients into liquids and combined them into one.

The combined liquid was moved to the empty glass bottle on the table. [I see. So this method is a lot harder, but it doesn't use distilled water. Could this be the reason why High Grade potions are so hard to make?]

Noah was filled with questions an observations as he carefully watched the old man's every move. He began getting the feeling that he knew how to beat Callum in the Alchemist competition now.

With a few drops of sweat on his forehead, Solomon now created a new batch of flames on his fingers and sent them flying at the main ingredients. At the same time, he kept one flame constantly heating the liquid in the glass bottle.

Another fifteen minutes slowly came to pass, and beads of sweat began rolling off Solomon's face and falling on the floor. Evidently, even a Superior Grade Alchemist still had to put some effort into making a High Grade potion without failure.

The main ingredients now turned into liquids themselves, and Solomon carefully added them to the hot liquid inside the glass bottle. After combining them, he increased the temperature and waited for a while. 

"Hu... It's done." The potion was completed. Although the potion looked normal at first glance, if one looked a bit closer they could notice uncountable small shining dots inside, like stars on the night sky. This was a High Grade potion!

"Fascinating." Noah muttered to himself. He knew full well that what he just witnessed was something that many Alchemists would actually kill for. For that reason, he didn't dare even blink so as to not miss anything.

"This is a method used primarily by High Grade Alchemists. That's because anyone who doesn't have a General Rank mana sense just doesn't have enough control over all the flames and ingredients simultaneously."

Solomon spoke in a solemn voice. "Although you curing the Grand Duke was phenomenal, you were still using only one flame. I suggest that you don't even attempt this method without becoming a High Grade Alchemist first. The consequences can be rather horrible should you fail."

"I understand, Old Man Solomon. Thank you for your help." Noah bowed respectfully. "Hoho, it's nothing. Let's go back and look at your future opponents." With a wave of a hand, Noah followed behind Solomon as they returned to the spacious hall from before.

Entering inside, the two of them noticed that the entire hall was in deathly silence. Even the old Alchemists had stunned expressions on their faces. "What's with you all?" Solomon asked. "Look there."

Looking at the direction of Dolorin's finger, Solomon looked at a machine on the side. It was a machine with the purpose of seeing how much can an Alchemist purify an ingredient. 

The ingredient given here was a Middle Grade ingredient. The most it can be purified is 99%. 

Right now, the machine showed 100% purity, and a name that stood in first place was something no one was expecting. Callum Martyr. Evidently, no one even dreamt that a Low Grade Alchemist was capable of such a thing.

On the side, the little princess from before was stunned silly, while the blond man's face darkened. He evidently received a huge shock. Both of their results were at 99%. Even Solomon was now stuck in place. 

"That is..." Usually, a Low Grade Alchemist can at most achieve 40% to 50% purity in a middle grade ingredient. That is simply natural, as they are just not strong enough to purify a higher grade ingredient. But this was something unseen.

Everyone looked at the young boy in the middle with a stunned face. "Old Man Solomon, can I try as well?" Noah was the one who broke the silence. All the gazes were now on him.

"Uuhh, I mean, you don't have to, but sure. You have half an hour." Solomon agreed. He and everyone present also wanted to see how much purity would this famous genius achieve. "In how much time did he succeed?"

"Almost half an hour. Why?" Dolorin asked. "Give me five minutes." Noah replied with a smile and entered a small room. "What?" Dolorin stood behind, stunned.

He wasn't the only one. Even the biggest geniuses needed at least fifteen minutes. And this young man said that he can do it in five minutes? After waiting for exactly five minutes, the doors to the small room opened, and Noah came out.

He placed the purified liquid in the machine under the gazes of everyone. After a few beeps, the machine spit out the result. 100% purity. Name: Noah.

The silence again ruled the hall. The little princess and the blond man almost fell unconscious, and even Old Man Solomon looked too stunned to speak.

"I'm afraid I have to excuse myself now, Old Man Solomon. I have work to do." With a polite bow, Noah left for the exit. On the way, he passed by Callum. Their gazes almost created sparks again.


	119. Chapter 119

As Noah walked out of the test ground, Solomon caught up with him from behind and walked side by side with him. Occasionally, Solomon would turn his head and glance at the calm faced young man who was walking. His gaze was somewhat strange.

“Old Man, why do you keep staring at me?” After walking for some distance, Noah could not endure Solomon’s gaze. Finally, he helplessly shook his head and asked with a wry smile.

“Hoho, I am just trying to figure out how many things you are hiding, little fellow. You are actually able to cause everyone to be so shocked...” Solomon said with a smile.

After chatting a little on the way, Solomon said his goodbyes to Noah as the latter left the Alchemist Guild. "Hahaha, I wonder how many precious ingredients I can ask for this year..." Turning around, Solomon couldn't help himself and laughed out loud.

Noah returned to the Primer Auction House with a thoughtful expression. "So that was "using fire as a cauldron"... Interesting. It's such a shame that I cannot find any High Grade ingredients for experiments. Everything of value was already bought these past few days..."

Entering his room, Noah's expression became even worse. He pulled up his sleeve and looked at the beautiful seven-colored snake that was coiled around his arm.

Once again, the snake didn't want to come off no matter how he pulled. "A lot of time has passed since it last woke up. Is Queen Medusa slowly gaining control and becoming the dominant soul?" 

Seeing the small snake in deep sleep, Noah was rather worried. What if the snake decided to wake up in the middle of the Alchemist competition and began eating his mana? What's more, what would the people present say when they see such familiar looking scales?

"Haah, it really doesn't feel good to have a ticking time bomb like this..." After sighing, Noah decided to use the time to practice Alchemy and make as many potions as he could. 

......

The next day, there were no clouds in the blue sky for tens of thousands of kilometers. The spring sunlight shined warmly on the Brabet Sacred City. 

Today, there was a great event within the Brabet Kingdom. The Alchemist Grand Meeting would begin today.

The moment the first rays of sunlight broke through the boundary of the land and shone upon the city that had a rich history, groups of human figures in long Alchemist robes began to appear on the quiet streets.

The Alchemist Grand Meeting during these few days would be the Brabet Sacred City’s most lively and fiery period of the entire year.

The Alchemists that were usually rarely seen, came out from all directions today and appeared at a scale similar to a military unit. 

This kind of majestic scene was something that people only had the luck to see during the Alchemist Grand Meeting.

Exiting the auction house, Noah followed the human river through the streets. Seeing the bustling and noisy streets, Noah's brows furrowed. [How annoying.] Noah was not a person who enjoyed these types of big events.

He was a person who liked peace and quiet, and unless these events were important, he much more preferred simply drinking tea and reading about new things, or looking at the starry sky.

After coming close to the Alchemist Guild, Noah rolled his eyes when he saw the Guild's entrance that appeared to have been completely blocked. He pushed his way into the human crowd and went to the western part.

"Noah, you're here." Solomon called out to Noah. Natalie and Matilda were also next to him, and they waved towards Noah. "Ah, I hope I'm not late." Noah waved back and stood in front of the trio.

"No, you're not late at all. Follow me everyone, the Alchemist competition isn't held here this year." With Solomon leading the way, they walked out from the back door of the Guild and headed toward a spot south of the city.

“The location for the Grand Meeting this time around is the Royal Family’s plaza. The size of that place can hold tens of thousands of people, and it completely meets the size needed for this Grand Meeting.” As they walked on the street, Solomon smiled and explained.

“The Grand Meeting is divided into a few examination rounds. Each examination will eliminate quite a number of people. In the later rounds, the examination difficulty becomes much greater. The last person who finally remains will be the final champion.”

"I see.” Noah nodded his head slightly. While he spoke, the Royal Family plaza that Solomon had mentioned had gradually appeared in their sight. Noah raised his eyes and watched. The edge of his sight could actually only see a small portion of the huge plaza.

Currently, there were fully armed knights who were stationed outside the plaza to maintain order. This kind of Grand Meeting had gathered strong people from everywhere. 

If a riot were to occur, the capital would receive a huge blow. Therefore, the Royal Family was extremely cautious regarding maintaining order.

There were inspectors from the Alchemist Guild stationed at the entrance of the plaza. Only the people from the Guild and the participants were allowed to enter from this entrance. The entrance to the audience seats was located in another place.

Under Solomon’s lead, Noah and the others did not face the slightest hindrance as they entered the plaza. After walking up a high slope to enter the plaza, that enormous open area was finally completely displayed in Noah’s sight.

The plaza was round in shape, with countless seats located on two sides of it. It seemed that those were seats for the audience. 

Opposite the audience seats, there were VIP seats which were decorated in a much more luxurious manner. These were specially catered for the upper echelons of the Guild and the heads of those large forces.

As his gaze swept over the incomparably large open ground, Noah discovered that thousands of wooden square tables were placed openly and neatly in it. These tables were orderly scattered and were placed extremely precisely. 

Currently, there were already quite a number of Alchemists participating in the competition quietly seated on chairs behind the wooden tables within the open ground. 

As time flowed, moving closer to the beginning of the competition, more and more Alchemists swarmed out from the path and searched for their seats according to the number tag that they had received.

Solomon glanced at the sky as he yawned. “Let’s go to the VIP seats first. There is still some time until the start of the Grand Meeting. There, you can meet some important people who have significant power. This may be useful to you.”

"Alright." Noah nodded. Seeing that there were no objections, Solomon took the lead and brought the few of them toward the VIP seats. When they were about to enter the VIP section, Solomon suddenly pointed at the front row. 

There was already a row of people seated. Among them, there was the branch manager of the Brabet Sacred City branch, Dolorin. Beside him sat a few old men with similar Alchemist robes.

Upon seeing Solomon, they waved their hands at him and talked among themselves. Noah and the rest didn't disturb them, instead finding a place to sit. Occasionally, the old men would look at Noah with an interested gaze, before quickly withdrawing their eyes.

"Ah, Your Excellency Noah, so we finally meet." Noah turned his head to the side to look for the person who called out to him. It was the little princess from yesterday.

Today, she was wearing a pale-green alchemist robe that was clearly specially tailored. Her spacious sleeves, had bright silk pulled around them to form a flower shape. 

This gave her an elegance that came from nowhere. However, now that they were this close to each other, Noah felt a strange scent linger in the air. [This scent, it seems familiar...]

As his gaze swept past the little princess, Noah discovered that beside her, there was a tall lady wearing a luxurious and brilliant dress. This lady’s face was similar to the little princess but it had an seriousness that was quite different than her. 

Compared to the cute looking and small sized little princess, there was an iciness and matured aura seeping out from all over this woman. 

Noah’s gaze swept past the two girls and he noticed the strange scent linger especially around the two of them. "Ah, my apologies for not greeting the two princesses. What a terrible mistake I've done."

With a charming smile and a courteous bow, Noah asked the two women for their names. "I am Luciana Faens of the Faens Royal Family." The little princess introduced herself.

"And I am Anamaria Faens of the Faens Royal Family." The older princess also introduced herself with a graceful bow. 

“Big sister, this is the famous Noah whom I have mentioned to you. His ability is extraordinary. He is likely the competitor with the most ability to snatch the champion position this time around.” Luciana pointed at Noah and smiled as she said to the serious woman behind.

“Nice to meet you, Your Excellency Noah.” The pretty eyes of the serious woman stared at Noah. She gracefully and naturally extended her hand and smiled. 

The instant she smiled caused some of the descendants of the noble families around the VIP seats to become absent minded. It was usually very difficult for them to see the usually cold older princess treating people in such a manner.

“Nice to meet you, princess Anamaria.” The attitude of the other party was such that Noah could find no fault with. He smiled and extended his hand and gently held that soft and delicate hand. 

He admired on the surface, but in reality, he was using this chance to come as close as possible to the two. [Indeed, this scent... This is a scent that belongs to Succubi, demonic seductresses of Hell... So these two are demon worshippers?]

“Hopefully, Your Excellency Noah is able to obtain a satisfactory result during the competition. When that time comes, I will personally hold a banquet to celebrate the accomplishments, I hope that Your Excellency will not refuse.” Anamaria withdrew her hand and smiled.

"How could I refuse?" Noah replied with a polite laugh. [You're giving me a chance at investigating you on a silver plate, who wouldn't accept?] Seeing that Noah had accepted, Anamaria stepped back behind Luciana with satisfaction.

After conversing a little with Noah, Anamaria bowed and greeted Dolorin, Solomon and a few others. Her perfect etiquette was difficult for someone to find fault with.

Once the group had greeted each other, they sat down in the front row of the VIP seat. Whether it was intentional or otherwise, princess Anamaria ended up sitting beside Noah. The previous faint fragrance drifted from the side continuously at Noah.

As the sun in the sky moved, the number of people in the seats also increased. These people were mostly nobles who at least had a rank of Count, and they would sit at the ordinary seats, while the VIP seats were reserved for Marquis Rank and above. The lower nobility of the outskirts had no qualification to attend.

The audience seats opposite them had long been overly packed. The shouting aggregated into a torrent that shot to the horizon.

Noah sat quietly in his seat with his eyes closed. A while later, he suddenly sensed some movement in the seats around him. Only then did he frown and turn his head around to see the source of the commotion.

The line-up that was entering the VIP section was quite large. The kingdom’s two Duke families arrived together. Noah could recognize Leon and Vento from Tagger Desert at the forefront.

There was also Reynold Esford in front of them as the Grand Duke. A greater reason for causing such a commotion, however, was Charlotte and Isabella who were walking in the middle. 

The two women had different dispositions, but they were similarly extremely beautiful. When the two of them walked together, it naturally attracted many eyes. No wonder the children of the noble families behind were so excited. To them, those two were practically goddesses.

The group of people moved along the walkway until they came to the position right at the front before greeting people they were familiar with.

After greeting the Alchemists, Isabella quietly slipped to Noah’s side and sat down. “Elder Noah. You must get a good result this time around. There are countless people watching~" She showed a smile as pretty as a flower.

“With Mister Noah’s ability, his result this time around would naturally not be bad. Obtaining the first place should be something that is easily done.” Charlotte came over to this side without anyone knowing when and smiled as well.

Anamaria, who was seated beside Noah, saw Isabella and Charlotte, these two beauties whose appearance did not lose to her, gathered around him. She was naturally extremely clear of the identities of these two ladies. 

[This man is definitely an attractive person with great potential. Otherwise with Isabella’s intelligence and Charlotte’s aloofness, they would definitely not converse with him in such a manner.] A mysterious smile flashed across her lips before it was masterfully hidden.

The three great beauties were all crowded around Noah’s side. This undoubtedly caused some of the gazes on the VIP seats to become heated. 

Some of the young nobles who possessed some imagination regarding the three ladies were clenching their teeth and staring intently at Noah. That manner of theirs was as though Noah was their enemy who had murdered their father.

Noah sighed and rubbed his head. The waves of fragrances from perfumes shrouding the tip of his nose caused Noah to have an intention to break his nose.

The numerous heated gazes behind him only served to make him annoyed and disgusted. [A bunch of useless and horny trash with too much imagination. They're only good for creating blood puppets.]

As time gradually flowed, the time for the start of the Grand Meeting slowly arrived under tens of thousands gazes.

When a clear bell sound rang out on the plaza, the noisiness that had shot to the sky suddenly became quiet.

Hearing the bell ringing by his ears, Dolorin quivered slightly and stood up. After which, he slowly walked to the very front of the VIP seats. His gaze watched the thousands of Alchemists seated behind the wooden tables below. 

At this moment, over two thousand Alchemists also lifted their heads and threw respectful gazes toward this old man who possessed an extremely great reputation within the Alchemist Guild.

“As the manager of the Brabet Sacred City’s Alchemist Guild, I pronounce that the Alchemist Grand Meeting has begun!”

*Bang!* The entire ground boiled. The happy cries of everyone present stirred the skies.


	120. Chapter 120

Dolorin stood in front of the VIP seats and eyed the bustling plaza. “Now, I would like to invite all the competitors to move to their assigned positions.”

Although the plaza was currently bustling about to the point that the ring of the bell could hardly be heard, Dolorin’s voice managed to still sound in everyone’s ears. 

Hearing Dolorin’s words, many Alchemists in the VIP seats immediately stood up. There, the Alchemists were mostly groomed by or roped into some of the more powerful groups. Currently, they were successively walking down under countless gazes.

“Hehe, Martin, Luciana, Noah, you should also go to your respective positions. As your results in the internal test were the most outstanding, the stations over there belong to the three of you. Those three seats will make you the focus of the crowd’s attention.” 

Dolorin’s finger pointed at a place located in the middle of the open ground. That place had over ten huge wooden tables and not only were these tables larger than the others, they also seemed to be elevated higher than the rest. 

Such a special position that stood out would naturally be able to cause the people standing there to become the main attraction.

Noah looked at the blond young man from yesterday. His name was Martin, and he was the Medicine King's one and only disciple. [I don't remember him from my past life.] Noah removed Martin from the list of people who he needed to worry about.

If he didn't become someone important in Noah's past life, then he would undoubtedly fail in this one as well, regardless if he was the Medicine King's disciple.

When the gazes of the three people followed the direction that Dolorin pointed and saw the special spot, their expressions were different from each other: Martin was a little excited, on top of being surprised; Luciana was curious and eager; while Noah frowned.

Given Noah’s character, he really did not like such a special position that placed him in the spotlight. 

Dolorin’s gaze slowly drifted over the faces of the three people and finally stopped on Noah. He appeared to be able to see through what Noah thought. 

“It is naturally a good thing for a young person to know how to keep a low profile. However, there are some things in this world that are made to be impossible to keep a low profile in."

"Since you are participating in the Grand Meeting, you must be thinking of obtaining the best result. In order to obtain the best result and be at the forefront of these two thousand people, you cannot escape being the focus of attention."

“If you don’t do some rash and arrogant things while you are young, you will not have fun memories to recall in the future...” Dolorin said with a smile.

[You're just placing me in the middle, where I can be an easy target...] Noah smiled back to the old man. There was one more thing to all competitions between two or more Alchemists.

It was a clash of mana senses. The two Alchemists would focus on creating their potion, and at the same time they would send out their mana senses to create sparks in hopes of disturbing the opponent.

Alchemy was a highly delicate process, and any tiny slip up could cause the whole brewing process to fail. With this said, the difficulty of the competition had increased again.

“Alright. The few of you please proceed down." Dolorin put his hands behind his back and observed. “The two of you, I will go first.” Martin responded to Dolorin first before looking at Noah and Luciana. 

Immediately, he pressed the ground lightly and his body charged to the edge of the high platform. He glanced at the huge open ground below. Then he leaped, diving forward and elicited countless sounds of shock from those in the ordinary seats.

His body swiftly descended and just as he was about to reach the ground, two wind columns, that could be seen with the naked eye, appeared out of Martin’s heel.

Borrowing the opposing force from the wind columns, he landed on the ground without any injury. After which, he swiftly walked up to the middle spot of the plaza under gazes that were filled with a fiery heat.

“This guy really likes to show off, but does he think that only he knows how to jump?” Eyeing Martin who had received attention from everyone by directly leaping down, Luciana smacked her lips together. 

Her body leaped forward and also shot off of the high platform. Like a falling leaf, her body gently and elegantly descended. Her beautiful posture was like that of a goddess.

This beautiful action of the hers had undoubtedly stirred the hearts of those observing more than Martin’s earlier performance. 

Moreover, due to her tender and cute matter, it had not only caused a howl to sound from the VIP seats, but also a deafening roar to be emitted from the audience seats on the opposite side.

“Hey, Noah. Why don’t you leap down as well? You cannot lose to them in this entrance parade.” Seeing Dolorin’s slightly pleased face, Solomon rolled his eyes as he urged Noah.

"I don't have a flying type artifact." Noah replied nonchalantly while taking out a small green badge. After pouring some mana inside, the ground below slightly shook, and green vines shot out of the ground towards the sky.

At the same time, Noah put his hands behind his back and simply walked off the platform. As he was falling, the vines that shot at him formed a stair after stair, supporting his feet and allowing him a smooth walk downwards.

With his indifferent look, he seemed like a being from a higher plane descending on the mortal world, served by nature itself. That, coupled with his handsome look, made many young ladies fascinated.

"That looked so cool." "I want to learn how to do that too..." There were also some young men who were feeling admiration to Noah's performance. [I didn't even do anything special, what is it with you people?]

A deafening clapping sound instantly sounded from the somewhat quiet audience seats. Sharp yells suddenly reverberated throughout the entire plaza. 

The Grand Meeting had yet to begin, but these three candidates had already given them an eye-opening entrance performance.

Charlotte sat lazily on a soft comfortable chair. The beautiful outline that was formed under the bundle of the spacious moon-white dress caused many gazes behind her to secretly sweep over. 

The current her had similarly paused her gaze on Noah who was on the open ground below. Watching the latter’s indifferent manner as though he had heard nothing as he stood in the middle of the countless cheers, her face became much gentler. 

Perhaps it was because she had stayed with her teacher, who was viewed like a god in her heart, for a long time, but Charlotte had a good impression regarding this indifference that was similar to her teacher’s.

Noah quietly stood in front of a clean wooden table. He realized that a set of medicinal ingredients was orderly placed on the table and in front of those was a thin piece of paper peacefully sitting. 

Additionally, a mirror was embedded at the front of the table with a weak green-red light flickering in it.

As Noah picked up the thin paper and swept his gaze over it, he was somewhat stunned to realize that it was actually a medicinal formula for a Low Grade potion.

However, the thing that caused Noah to be speechless was that only some of the medicinal ingredients and other things were carelessly written onto this medicinal formula. It's format, in no way, complied with the orthodox method of creating a medicinal formula.

The medicinal formula was always written in great detail, regardless of what grade of the potion it was for. From the ingredients, to the temperature, everything needed to be explained in full, otherwise there was an increased risk of failure.

Dolorin stood in front of the VIP seats and eyed the bustling plaza. “Now, I would like to invite all the competitors to move to their assigned positions.”

Although the plaza was currently bustling about to the point that the ring of the bell could hardly be heard, Dolorin’s voice managed to still sound in everyone’s ears. 

Hearing Dolorin’s words, many Alchemists in the VIP seats immediately stood up. There, the Alchemists were mostly groomed by or roped into some of the more powerful groups. Currently, they were successively walking down under countless gazes.

“Hehe, Martin, Luciana, Noah, you should also go to your respective positions. As your results in the internal test were the most outstanding, the stations over there belong to the three of you. Those three seats will make you the focus of the crowd’s attention.” 

Dolorin’s finger pointed at a place located in the middle of the open ground. That place had over ten huge wooden tables and not only were these tables larger than the others, they also seemed to be elevated higher than the rest. 

Such a special position that stood out would naturally be able to cause the people standing there to become the main attraction.

Noah looked at the blond young man from yesterday. His name was Martin, and he was the Medicine King's one and only disciple. [I don't remember him from my past life.] Noah removed Martin from the list of people who he needed to worry about.

If he didn't become someone important in Noah's past life, then he would undoubtedly fail in this one as well, regardless if he was the Medicine King's disciple.

When the gazes of the three people followed the direction that Dolorin pointed and saw the special spot, their expressions were different from each other: Martin was a little excited, on top of being surprised; Luciana was curious and eager; while Noah frowned.

Given Noah’s character, he really did not like such a special position that placed him in the spotlight. 

Dolorin’s gaze slowly drifted over the faces of the three people and finally stopped on Noah. He appeared to be able to see through what Noah thought. 

“It is naturally a good thing for a young person to know how to keep a low profile. However, there are some things in this world that are made to be impossible to keep a low profile in."

"Since you are participating in the Grand Meeting, you must be thinking of obtaining the best result. In order to obtain the best result and be at the forefront of these two thousand people, you cannot escape being the focus of attention."

“If you don’t do some rash and arrogant things while you are young, you will not have fun memories to recall in the future...” Dolorin said with a smile.

[You're just placing me in the middle, where I can be an easy target...] Noah smiled back to the old man. There was one more thing to all competitions between two or more Alchemists.

It was a clash of mana senses. The two Alchemists would focus on creating their potion, and at the same time they would send out their mana senses to create sparks in hopes of disturbing the opponent.

Alchemy was a highly delicate process, and any tiny slip up could cause the whole brewing process to fail. With this said, the difficulty of the competition had increased again.

“Alright. The few of you please proceed down." Dolorin put his hands behind his back and observed. “The two of you, I will go first.” Martin responded to Dolorin first before looking at Noah and Luciana. 

Immediately, he pressed the ground lightly and his body charged to the edge of the high platform. He glanced at the huge open ground below. Then he leaped, diving forward and elicited countless sounds of shock from those in the ordinary seats.

His body swiftly descended and just as he was about to reach the ground, two wind columns, that could be seen with the naked eye, appeared out of Martin’s heel.

Borrowing the opposing force from the wind columns, he landed on the ground without any injury. After which, he swiftly walked up to the middle spot of the plaza under gazes that were filled with a fiery heat.

“This guy really likes to show off, but does he think that only he knows how to jump?” Eyeing Martin who had received attention from everyone by directly leaping down, Luciana smacked her lips together. 

Her body leaped forward and also shot off of the high platform. Like a falling leaf, her body gently and elegantly descended. Her beautiful posture was like that of a goddess.

This beautiful action of the hers had undoubtedly stirred the hearts of those observing more than Martin’s earlier performance. 

Moreover, due to her tender and cute matter, it had not only caused a howl to sound from the VIP seats, but also a deafening roar to be emitted from the audience seats on the opposite side.

“Hey, Noah. Why don’t you leap down as well? You cannot lose to them in this entrance parade.” Seeing Dolorin’s slightly pleased face, Solomon rolled his eyes as he urged Noah.

"I don't have a flying type artifact." Noah replied nonchalantly while taking out a small green badge. After pouring some mana inside, the ground below slightly shook, and green vines shot out of the ground towards the sky.

At the same time, Noah put his hands behind his back and simply walked off the platform. As he was falling, the vines that shot at him formed a stair after stair, supporting his feet and allowing him a smooth walk downwards.

With his indifferent look, he seemed like a being from a higher plane descending on the mortal world, served by nature itself. That, coupled with his handsome look, made many young ladies fascinated.

"That looked so cool." "I want to learn how to do that too..." There were also some young men who were feeling admiration to Noah's performance. [I didn't even do anything special, what is it with you people?]

A deafening clapping sound instantly sounded from the somewhat quiet audience seats. Sharp yells suddenly reverberated throughout the entire plaza. 

The Grand Meeting had yet to begin, but these three candidates had already given them an eye-opening entrance performance.

Charlotte sat lazily on a soft comfortable chair. The beautiful outline that was formed under the bundle of the spacious moon-white dress caused many gazes behind her to secretly sweep over. 

The current her had similarly paused her gaze on Noah who was on the open ground below. Watching the latter’s indifferent manner as though he had heard nothing as he stood in the middle of the countless cheers, her pretty face could not help but become much gentler. 

Perhaps it was because she had stayed with her teacher, who was viewed like a god in her heart, for a long time, but Charlotte had a good impression regarding this indifference that was similar to her teacher’s.

Noah quietly stood in front of a clean wooden table. He realized that a set of medicinal ingredients was orderly placed on the table and in front of those was a thin piece of paper peacefully sitting. 

Additionally, a mirror was embedded at the front of the table with a weak green-red light flickering in it.

As Noah picked up the thin paper and swept his gaze over it, he was somewhat stunned to realize that it was actually a medicinal formula for a Low Grade potion.

However, the thing that caused Noah to be speechless was that only some of the medicinal ingredients and other things were carelessly written onto this medicinal formula. It's format, in no way, complied with the orthodox method of creating a medicinal formula.

The medicinal formula was always written in great detail, regardless of what grade of the potion it was for. From the ingredients, to the temperature, everything needed to be explained in full.

The things that were recorded on this thin sheet of paper simply gave a vague explanation of the temperature. All the remaining details completely required the reader to grasp by himself. 

This would undoubtedly cause the number of failures in brewing this potion to be raised to a terrifying extent.

Noah looked at the amount of medicinal ingredients placed on the table. The quantity was only enough to allow one to brew the potion twice. 

In other words, it meant that each person had only one chance of failure. If the medicinal ingredients were completely exhausted and there was not a potion that had been brewed, then it was clear that the person had failed. The result of failure was removal from the competition.

“It is certainly a Grand Meeting held every ten years. This kind of difficulty is really...” Noah held the thin piece of paper and shook his head. 

He then lifted his head and glanced in all directions, only to realize that there was some bitterness on many of the Alchemists’ faces. Turning his head, he eyed Luciana and Martin on his left and right. 

The both of them appeared much calmer. However, they were still both frowning slightly as they recognized some of the problems with the formula recorded on the thin paper.

Noah gently inhaled a breath of air. He could only turn his focus towards the thin piece of paper. This kind of strange examination was something that he had never tried before, therefore he felt a little worried.

On the enormous open ground, all the competitors were holding the thin paper with both hands. They displayed many different expressions as they read. In an instant, the entire plaza was totally silent.

The quiet atmosphere continued for nearly five minutes. A clear bell then sounded abruptly within the open ground.

Hearing the bell ring, all the competitors spontaneously placed the things in their hands down. They beckoned with their hands and instantly, thousands of small cauldrons suddenly appeared on the tables.

Following the ringing of the bell, Dolorin, who had his eyes closed also opened them. He swept his gaze under him as his slow voice sounded by everyone’s ears. 

“I think that all of you should have understood something. During this first round of the competition, all of you need to follow this incomplete medicinal formula to refine a potion that is a finished product. Each of you have two tries. If the potion is not successfully brewed after two attempts, the mirror behind the table will automatically display a red light. When the red light flicks on, that person will exit the competition ground."

“On the wall opposite all of you, there is a huge hourglass. That is the time limit for the competition. Those who still fail to brew the potion before all the sand in the hour glass falls will similarly fail.”

“Do you all understand?” Dolorin said with a serious face.

“Yes!” The sound that was projected forward from the ground below was like a muffled thunder that roared upward.

"Since it’s like this, then… the first round of the examination shall now begin!”

Dolorin slowly lifted his palm and swung it down. At this moment, thousands of flames suddenly appeared in the large open ground like fireworks. The spectacular scene caused peoples’ blood to boil!


	121. Chapter 121

Noah quietly stood in front of the table. He pushed the small cauldron in front of him a little further away. The current him did not immediately summon out his flame and start the purification like the other Alchemists. 

Instead, he quietly held the thin paper with both hands, knit his eyebrows slightly together and studied what little information was written on it in greater detail.

Before doing anything, one must first make preparations. He only had two chances. Any negligence would result in failure.

This time around, the examination required one to refine a Low Grade potion that was called ‘Bone Growing Potion'. As the name suggests, it was a kind of potion used to cure Paragon Rank Mages who were quite seriously injured. 

It was a potion that was of the healing category. Usually, these potions were not overly expensive. If they were placed on the market, it would likely be priced at a few hundred or a few thousand low grade mana crystals. 

Refining the ‘Bone Growing Potion’ needed a total of six kinds of medicinal ingredients. Among all of the Low Grade potions, it was not considered to be extremely complex. 

However, this kind of ‘Bone Growing Potion' was clearly a new kind of healing potion specially changed by the Alchemist Guild. Therefore, Noah was now at a loss.

Although there were many different kinds of healing medicines that were mysterious and strange, all roads lead to Rome. The rough sequences used to refine these healing potions were very similar. 

It was just that the degree of complexity was different. Moreover, this potion was not extremely troublesome. 

As long as one’s real Alchemist ability was not weak, it should be possible to successfully feel around and grasp the brewing method to refine the ‘Bone Growing Potion’. 

Therefore, even though the medicinal formula only gave the generic things one must pay attention to, it should not be too difficult to refine it successfully if one followed one’s senses.

But Noah's Alchemist ability was truly weak. While he was good at controlling fire with his mana sense, his mana sense was Sovereign Rank, something which shouldn't be possible. If his mana sense was at Officer Rank, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to stand here.

The only reason why he was a semi-succesful Middle Grade Alchemist was because of the many memories he gathered from Middle Grade Alchemists in his past life. By his own, he didn't even have basic Alchemy training.

After memorizing all the information on the paper, Noah slowly closed his eyes. A moment later, he gradually opened them and sighed gently. [How troublesome...]

Placing the thin piece of paper on the table, he turned his head and looked around. He realized that the Luciana and Martin had already begun to control their flames and began brewing.

At this moment, over ten minutes since the start of the examination had elapsed. During this short ten minutes, there was already red lights flickering off and on within this huge open ground. 

After the red light flickered, those Alchemists who had failed could only choose to leave with embarrassed red faces. 

For these Alchemists who liked to follow the rules to the letter, this kind of examination which took a slanted path was impossible for them.

Noah indifferently glanced at an Alchemist in front of him who had their head lowered as he walked out of the open ground with a face on the verge of crying. 

He ignored him and turned his attention completely to the brewing process that was about to begin. He pulled out his cauldron, poured distilled water inside and summoned a small flame.

The crimson colored flame danced around lively on Noah's palm like a fairy. A moment later, Noah waved his palm gently. 

The flame was directly shot under the small cauldron. Immediately, the turbulent flame soared and burned under the small cauldron. The temperature of the cold cauldron was swiftly raised.

While the distilled water began heating up to the point of boiling, Noah took a medicinal ingredient on the table into his hand. He began inspecting it, but in reality, he was using his mana sense to spy on Martin and Luciana's purification process, and then copying them.

In order to brew the potion, the medicinal ingredients must be purified to a certain degree. Sometimes, if the purity was a little higher or lower, it could result in the brewing process failing. 

It was also for this reason that Noah depended on a medicinal formula. This was because on most of the orthodox medicinal formulas, there would be a detailed record of the degree of purity each medicinal ingredient needed to be purified to.

Unfortunately, Noah currently did not have that precise medicinal formula. Everything would have to rely on him using his mana sense to copy others, alongside drawing upon all the possible knowledge of the Alchemists he Soul Searched in his previous life.

A Low Grade medicinal ingredient had in total consumed over ten minutes of Noah’s time before it gradually achieved an extent that he thought was right. At this moment, he then carefully placed the second type of medicinal ingredient into his hand.

Using the brief instance when he threw in the medicinal ingredients, Noah glanced at his two sides. He realized that Luciana and Martin may have appeared to have similarly serious faces, but their movements did not show the slightest sign of being flustered. 

Their faces also did not display any emotion that showed that they were at a loss. It appeared the refining process was entirely within their control.

[Good. I just have to follow their movements and everything should be alright-] *Boom!*

Just as Noah withdrew his gaze, a cauldron on a wooden table not far away where the flames were raging could not suppress the increasingly high temperature. 

It suddenly exploded. Following the explosion of the cauldron, the potion that was being brewed within it had also announced it's end. Therefore, the merciless red light in the mirror shone in an eye-piercing manner.

That Alchemist's hair was burned until it was charred black. His face had also completely changed as he stood there foolishly watching the flickering red light. 

A long while later, he finally cursed out loud as he descended from the platform. He clenched his teeth and walked out of the open ground under countless gazes. 

[That could have been me now, I need to be more careful...] Noah threw aside this small interlude and continued to place the colorful liquids carefully into the cauldron one at a time. 

After which, he patiently looked out for Luciana's and Martin's movements. Every ingredient that they chose, he chose. Every movement that they made, he made.

......

As time slowly flowed by, red lights were repeatedly flashing on the huge open ground. One by one, green faced or crimson faced Alchemists would helplessly leave the platform and under the countless of gazes from the viewing platform, moodily left this place which caused them sadness and anger.

All of a sudden, one of the Alchemists made a sound. His hand trembled, and the potion liquid within the small cauldron that was already transparent instantly became cloudy.

“Bastard! You’re looking to die!” The Alchemist ignored the remains of a destroyed potion, turning at one of his fellow Alchemists and beginning to chant a spell.

“Stop right there!” Dolorin bellowed, his body standing up. A rune nearby the wooden tables shone, trapping the Alchemist within the area.

“Your Excellency, he…” He protested. "I didn’t see him doing anything, I only saw you trying to attack a fellow Alchemist participating in the competition.” Dolorin snorted. “If this happens again, you’ll lose the right to participate.”

The Alchemist seemed extremely dissatisfied as he clenched his fist. After tarrying for several minutes, he then dispelled the radiation of energy waves of his spell in anger.

He glared viciously at the nearby Alchemist. Afterwards, he picked up another set of ingredients and began his brewing again.

After nearly half of the sand within that huge hourglass on the wall had fell, Noah finished purifying all the ingredients just like Luciana and Martin.

This step would be even more troublesome than the purification earlier. During this period, if Noah were to even slightly lose his concentration, he would have to start from scratch. [Finally past the tough part, now the easy part...]

Time passed, and more Alchemists failed due to many reasons. Various booming sounds echoed around Noah. There were even some Alchemists daring enough to use their mana senses to try and make him slip up.

Such people were naturally easily dispatched by Noah's Sovereign Rank mana sense with ease. Noah would also use the chance to counter attack those people. "Aah!" One of the Alchemists stumbled backwards, blood pouring down his nose.

His potion was destroyed, and as he failed for a second time, he was promptly disqualified from the competition. 

The end of the competition approached. There was only a minute worth of sand in the hourglass. Right then, the blond haired Martin finished with his brewing. A yellow liquid was transferred from his cauldron to a glass bottle. The pride on his face was difficult to hide.

Just after him, Luciana also finished brewing her potion. A small bead of sweat flowed down her forehead as she looked at the yellow liquid inside the glass bottle.

Following the two of them, a chain reaction seemed to have appeared as many more Alchemists finished with their brewing.

“Time is almost up...” Solomon stared intently at Noah in the center spot who still had his eyes closed. He then looked at the sand in the hourglass that had almost completely fell. 

Within the large open ground, countless gazes were slowly thrown to the middle spot where Noah was at. They then eyed the sand in the hourglass that was splashing down. 

All of these people wanted to know if this young person who stood in the spot that attracted the most attention would be able to complete the test in this round at the last minute.

"Done." Finally, with just ten seconds remaining, Noah opened his eyes and finished with his potion as well. It looked completely identical to Luciana and Martin's potions.

Ten seconds later, the little remaining sand finally fell down. On the big open ground, hundreds of red lights lit up behind those Alchemists who had still not finished brewing their potions.

Disappointedly looking at the flashing red light, those Alchemists smiled bitterly and took back their respective cauldrons. Their faces were dispirited as they exited the square.

Standing behind the table, Noah looked at the contestants withdraw one after another. This was just the first round of assessments and yet unexpectedly one-third of the participants had been eliminated. 

Looking up at the VIP seats, he saw Dolorin, waiting for his turn to speak. Right now, Dolorin seemed to have a thoughtful expression on his face, unlike his usual laid back attitude.

The old men around him noticed this, and they began inquiring about it. Solomon also joined in. [He must be looking for Callum. I bet Callum somehow insulted him.]

Noah remembered that Callum was a person who greatly disliked arrogance of Ranked Mages and Alchemists towards the ordinary people, as he repeatedly tried to change the Alchemist Guild and make it into an organization that helps them.

This would naturally get him into conflict with the old Superior Grade Alchemists who want for the current state of the Alchemist Guild to remain unchanged.

Dolorin stood at a spot on the front of the platform. He looked down from the top and watched the entire open ground. His gaze swept across it, eyeing the place where a third of the competitors had been eliminated.

“Congratulations to all of you who are still standing in the plaza. You have more or less successfully passed the test for the first round; however, it has not completely ended." 

“Now, can all the competitors please search for a green colored button located at the bottom left corner of your table and press it.” The Alchemists followed the instructions and pressed the small button.

As the button was pressed, the bright and clean table suddenly trembled slightly. On it's surface, a slate was slowly protruding out. Once it was raised by around half a feet, it sank slightly and finally revealed a small black hole.

“This is a testing machine. Place your potions into it. If you have achieved the requirement, a green light will flash on the mirror in front of the table. If you have failed to meet the requirements, it will flash a red light. The result of failure is that you must exit the competition. Additionally, the brighter the green light, the closer your refined Bone Growing Potion's effectiveness to the real one described in the medicinal formula."

Noah calmly eyed the dark black colored hole of the testing machine. He did not hurriedly throw the potion in. Instead, his gaze swept around him.

At this moment, there were already some Alchemists who had begun to throw their potions into the testing machine. Not long after that happened, the open plaza suddenly became very colorful. 

Strong and weak green and red lights interweaved as they glittered. Each represented either joy or gloominess.

Following this round of the test, there were at least nearly a hundred Alchemists who left the open ground with green or red faces.

“Mister Noah, why don’t we do it together?” Luciana tossed the potion in her hands and suddenly spoke with a smile to Noah. The demonic scent lingering around her seemed to have increased a little.

Noah smiled. [I'll be sure to find out who you are.] The potions of the three of them were thrown into the dark black hole of the testing machine at almost the same time.

As the three of them threw in their potions, countless gazes were immediately thrown at this spot which was the most eye-catching. 

Everyone wanted to know who among these three, who were considered the seeded level competitors, could brew a potion that was better than the others.

The mirror on the table was a little quiet. An instant later, a slight muffled sound erupted and three bright colored green light pillars were abruptly shot out from the tables in front of the three of them. 

The density of any of the green colored lights was clearly much denser than any of the green lights that had appeared in the open ground before.

Among the three green pillars, Luciana's was the weakest, while Martin's and Noah's were completely identical. Noah was satisfied with the result, while Martin felt a little dispirited.

Having been a genius his entire life, it was a huge blow to be completely overshadowed by Noah. Although Martin understood that Noah was so many leagues above him that he should just give up, there was one thing that made him a little afraid.

At the same time, Dolorin was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed. His gaze swept through the huge open ground and finally paused on a remote corner. 

A human figure that was in ordinary mercenary clothes and a bronze token slowly dropped his own potion in his hand into the testing machine.

“That brat...” Dolorin’s old eyes narrowed. An angry glint flashed within those turbid eyes. His finger gently tapped on the guardrail. Solomon noticed this and looked confused.

A moment later, the bright green colored light pillar abruptly shot out from the table in front of the young boy. The intensity of the light had vaguely surpassed that green light of both Martin and Noah.

The sudden appearance of the strong light had almost instantly attracted all the gazes on the open ground over. 

When everyone saw that the person who had created this light pillar was a Low Grade Alchemist who was reduced to a remote corner, their faces were filled with surprise.

The strong green light that had suddenly appeared had also simultaneously attracted the gazes of Noah’s group. When he saw the light pillar that was denser than his own glow, Noah frowned. [As expected of you, Callum.]

His and Callum's gazes met, and they both stared intently at each other, as if they were life long enemies at each other's throats.


	122. Chapter 122

"Isn't that guy..." After looking at the strong opponent that had suddenly appeared, Luciana and Martin exchanged glances with surprised faces that were utterly perplexed.

“Why is he here?” Luciana muttered softly. She pursed her lips up as her gaze stared at the young boy. "Didn't branch manager Dolorin say that he was going to persuade him from participating?" Contrary to Luciana's calmer disposition, Martin began grinding his teeth in anger.

His pride of a genius could handle getting beaten by Noah, as Noah was just that good, and had immense backing behind him. But, to be outshined by a mere Low Grade Alchemist in front of so many people...

Seemingly having sensed the gazes that the two of them had shot over, Callum turned his head slightly. His blue pair of eyes carried a little iciness as they eyed the two of them indifferently.

Eyeing Callum from the platform, Dolorin grabbed the armrest so hard that it broke. Veins popped on his forehead, making the surrounding Superior Grade Alchemists look at him with surprise.

"Dolorin, what happened? Did that kid insult you or something?" Solomon asked. "That brat is the one from the preliminaries test. The Low Grade Alchemist who achieved a 100% purity, remember?" 

"Yes, so what?" Solomon was very surprised that a Low Grade Alchemist could even do such a thing, but he quickly forgot about him as he was overshadowed by Noah's 100% purification in just five minutes. It was obvious who was better.

"Even though he was overshadowed by Noah, he can still be considered a true genius. Do you know what else I've found out? His name is Callum Martyr, the Esford Family's Charlotte's ex fiance." Dolorin's face darkened.

"Hm? I've heard some rumors about lady Charlotte breaking off some kind of engagement... Is it him?" Solomon replied in a lazy voice.

Nodding his head, Dolorin continued. "He's a member of a Baron Rank family. It seems that he reached Paragon Rank just recently at eighteen years, and for some reason he can already brew Middle Grade potions."

Solomon's eyes shrunk in surprise. "You mean to tell me, he's a genius as well?!" This was frightening. First it was Noah, a twenty year old monster with insane flame control and concentration.

And now there was even a old Low Grade Alchemist capable of going tod to toe with Middle Grade Alchemists at eighteen? Solomon sucked in cold air. "This is a just ludicrous. I can't even tell which one is better."

"I thought so as well, so I tried to recruit him. But, he refused." "Well, it can't be helped if he doesn't want to. No need to get so angry for that." Hearing Solomon, Dolorin shook his head before opening his mouth.

"He said that will use this chance to became influential so that he can change the Alchemist Guild to an organization that helps ordinary people." "Huh?" Solomon looked stunned. "Is he stupid?" 

Ever since the dawn of time, Ranked Mages were always above ordinary people since they began existing. Today, everything is controlled by Ranked Mages.

Whether it is the Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Light Mages or Dark Mages, they all followed a single rule: Ranked Mages are above the ordinary mortals. Eventually, this practice evolved to become the rule of life in this world.

Even the ordinary people got used to such treatment to the point that they understand that it's only natural. Everyone who tries to go against this natural law will get brutally killed by the Ranked Mages.

If the Alchemist Guild really ends up helping ordinary people, they would be seen as enemies by the entire world. "So that's how it is..." Solomon frowned. He as well didn't want the current state of the Alchemist Guild to change.

Even he was already thinking of secretly ending Callum's life should it be necessary. "What's more, this is a competition between Middle Grade Alchemists. If a Low Grade Alchemist from the outskirts wins, it will be seen as an embarrassment."

"I agree. But I guess we can only trust Noah and the rest to win." Solomon and Dolorin quietly nudged closer together. It looked like they were discussing something, but it also coincidentally isolated the surrounding gazes.

“Looks like there is some unforeseen turn of events in the Grand Meeting...” Isabella’s eyes looked at the two old men a short distance away with eyes that held a deeper meaning.

With her eyesight that had been trained over so many years, she was naturally able to discover that ever since the strong green colored light appeared, Dolorin’s expression was somewhat ugly. 

“Yes… that mysterious young boy appeared to have broken the order of the Grand Meeting.” Anamaria nodded. She also did not miss those things that Isabella was able to discover.

Charlotte was now silent, and a storm was brewing inside her. [Isn't that him?!] She couldn't believe that a boy who was a cripple just three years ago was now already a Paragon Rank Mage, and a Low Grade Alchemist that just outshined all the other Alchemists present.

Reynold and Eugene also recognized Callum, and both of them frowned. "Eugene, how is our relationship with the Martyr Family?" Reynold quietly whispered. "It's rather bad, father. I do not believe that they would accept the engagement anymore..."

Hearing Eugene's response, Reynold let out a heavy sigh. "I see. Then, I guess that we can only wait and hope that he loses. If he doesn't, I'm afraid that our Esford Family is going to experience big trouble..."

“The Growing Bone Potion that young boy had brewed appears to be even more outstanding than Noah’s group... Originally I thought that only the three of them would be fighting for the champion of this Grand Meeting. It is really unexpected that such a dark horse has suddenly come running out...” Isabella knit her eyebrows slightly together.

At this moment, most of the audience’s eyes were basically glued to the average face of the young boy. It was likely that this young boy’s age was the youngest in all of the seasons of the Alchemist Grand Meeting.

“We must not let him be the champion!” Martin eyed Noah and Luciana as he said in low and vicious voice. 

Noah shrugged his shoulders in an unconcerned manner. He was planning on obtaining the champion position anyway. Luciana nodded her head seriously.

......

On the front stage of the VIP seats, Dolorin slowly exhaled. His turbid eyes carried some coldness as he stared at Callum in the open ground below. A long while later, a calm voice once again sounded in the plaza.

“Alright, since everyone has completed the test, let us start the second round of the examination. Move your fingers and press the red colored small button on the bottom left of the table.”

Hearing the voice by the side of his ear, Noah threw the matter regarding Callum to the back of his mind. His finger touched it and then pressed the little red colored button down.

As he pressed the button, the huge table suddenly trembled slightly. The machine that had protruded out earlier was once again withdrawn. 

A huge pile of neatly stacked medicinal ingredients and a medicinal formula scroll slowly appeared on the clear and sleek table surface.

“This time around, the medicinal formula is an orthodox one. The examination this time around will require all of you to follow the formula to successfully brew the potion. The ingredients in front of you are sufficient enough for all of you to brew twice. Once the medicinal ingredients are exhausted, you fail."

“Uh?” Hearing this, Noah was puzzled, and frowned. [Following the medicinal formula to brew the potion? This kind of examination... isn’t it a little too easy? There's no way that they don't have something hidden...] 

Noah doubtfully shook his head. He picked up the medicinal formula scroll and slowly pulled it open. Numerous amounts of precise information was swiftly stored in Noah’s mind. 

The various different things that one needed to pay attention to were also swiftly and clearly recorded in his mind. This was the advantage of an orthodox medicinal formula.

[Vitality Boosting Potion. According to what is written here, you need to merge nine different types of ingredients in order to brew this potion.] Noah’s gaze slowly swept over the nine different types of ingredients in front of him.

He raised his head and looked around him only to find that Luciana, Martin and the others had their eyebrows slightly knit together. Looks like they too felt a little surprise at the simplicity of the examination this time around.

[I don’t care what exactly is the reason. I should act first. It would naturally be good if I can successfully pass and save myself quite a bit of trouble.] Noah thought to himself.

However, he still kept having a bad feeling. For that reason, he began searching the memories of all the Middle Grade Alchemists he Soul Searched in his previous life.

At a remote corner, Callum looked at the scroll on his hand indifferently. A smile of ridicule was contained at the corner of his mouth. “A cheap trick... does the ever so arrogant Alchemist Guild only have this little ability?”

On the stage in front of the VIP seats, Dolorin stood on the high ground and looked down at the entire place. He eyed Callum at the remote corner who had already raised his flame and began to refine. 

He frowned slightly and silently spoke. “Little brat, you must always be careful. This kind of Grand Meeting is not like a competition along the road side. If you don’t pay attention, you will end up being eliminated.”


	123. Chapter 123

On the huge square, most of the Alchemists were joyful once they inspected the formula and immediately lit their flames and began preparing measures to brew the potions.

Of course, among so many Alchemists, there were naturally some cautious ones who upon looking at the simple test were surprised and hesitated. But upon discovering nothing wrong, they could only helplessly shake their heads, and light their fires.

Martin and and Luciana slightly frowned, and also started brewing. They had the orthodox formula, and with their capabilities, as long as they were careful, brewing should not be too difficult. 

That is, unless they suffered a stroke of extremely bad luck. After all, no matter what, it was impossible to have a success rate of 100% when it came to refining.

As the purification of the ingredients once again began, the noise from the two seating galleries at the sides also gradually decreased. 

Numerous gazes swept over the Alchemists in the open square, eyeing those within the open ground with envious faces as the latter released essence like flames with the raise of their hands.

In front of the VIP seats, Dolorin stood with his hands held together. His gaze was directly locked on Callum at a remote spot on the open ground. 

Seeing that the methods the boy used while purifying ingredients was as well versed as some of the elders within the association, he knit his eyebrows slightly.

“Hmm?” Solomon, who had been sweeping his gaze over the competitors, suddenly made a sound of surprise. “What happened?” Dolorin asked in a hushed tone.

“That boy Callum! His brewing methods are extremely... perfect!” Solomon came up with the word after a long pause.

“Look! Even though the other competitors are skilled, they tend to make mistakes. However, there isn’t the slightest bit of a lapse in his hands or in his movements. Everything is so stable as if it’s a textbook example but in real life.”

“Hmm… You’re right! If you hadn’t brought it up, I would have missed it!” Dolorin watched the young boy in the corner who was engrossed in purifying a green plant.

“Let’s first see if he can pass this round…” Solomon sighed and once again threw his gaze back toward Noah’s three-man group. “Hopefully, these three can also pass... I hope they won't be too careless.”

......

As the time slowly flowed by, some of the competitors within the open ground, whose abilities were quite good, had already purified all the necessary quantities of medicinal ingredients needed. 

After hesitating for a moment, they clenched their teeth and poured the essence components into the medicinal cauldron one by one, beginning the brewing.

At the same time, Noah pretended to carefully inspect every ingredient. In reality, he was observing Callum with his mana sense. The latter now had a thoughtful expression on his face, and Noah didn't miss it.

This resulted in the two of them still stuck at the very beginning while many other competitors had already purified all the essential components of medicinal ingredients.

Suddenly, a soft muffled sound was emitted from a table not far away from where Noah was currently. 

Noah raised his eyes to take a look. At that spot, an Alchemist was foolishly staring at the black liquid that was discharged from the small cauldron. Clearly, this was a product from a failed refining attempt.

“How can it be? Didn’t I completely follow the medicinal formula? Why did I fail?” The Alchemist mumbled in a quiet and doubtful manner. 

A moment later, the him who did not have any answer could only attribute the failure this time around to his failure of controlling the flame. 

Therefore, he swiftly cleared out the mess and began to throw in the last set of medicinal ingredients into the cauldron as though he had done it a thousand times before and began to proceed with the brewing.

Noah narrowed his eyes as he watched the Alchemist’s action. His hand, which was lifting an ingredient was slowly placed down. His gaze stared at the latter’s every action. 

This Alchemist was someone whom Noah had seen previously at the internal test. Logically speaking, the him who possessed the ability of a Middle Alchemist should not make an extremely low level mistake like improper control of the flame when brewing a Middle Grade potion. 

Although it was said in this manner, the true event that had appeared in front of him was that he had indeed failed in the brewing...

[Something is a little off…] When Noah glanced at his two sides, he realized that Luciana and Martin had already began merging the medicinal ingredients.

As more and more time passed, numerous soft muffled sounds from the cauldrons occurred one after another on the large open ground. 

The Alchemists who failed stared at the dark black liquid that came scattering out of the cauldrons with completely stunned faces. 

Their perplexed eyes let everyone knew that they did not appear to know where the problem came from. 

The people on the audience seats began to whisper privately amongst themselves as they watched the Alchemists who had suddenly become foolish looking.

*Bang! Bang!* Another two soft muffled sounds were emitted by Noah’s two sides. He turned his head to take a look. Upon seeing the ugly expressions on Luciana and Martin's faces, he slowly exhaled.

“It seems there’s something wrong.” On the VIP seats, Isabella softly said. As she did so, her astonished eyes watched all the Alchemists on the open ground turning into fools exchanging glances with each other.

“Something is indeed wrong… Although I am not an Alchemist, I also know that one’s success rate in refinement would greatly increase if one refined according to the medicinal formula. However, those below, including mister Martin and my sister all seem to have failed.” Anamaria knitted her eyebrows together and said.

“This examination question… seems to have concealed a mystery.” Charlotte’s long right leg was crossed over her left one. She watched the open ground which had a strange atmosphere and spoke.

*Bang!* Another muffled sound was suddenly transmitted from a spot a short distance in front of Noah. The Middle Grade Alchemist who had failed earlier still ended in failure during the merging portion this time around. 

The current him was eyeing the dark black liquid spilling out from his small cauldron with a green face.

After this sound rang, a red glow suddenly lit up from the mirror in front of the Middle Grade Alchemist. Evidently, he had lost his last chance after consuming both portions of medicinal ingredients.

On the open ground, numerous gazes eyed this Alchemist who was the first to be knocked off. Seeing his ending, some of the people who were impulsively planning to immediately refine again were frightened. They calmed down and no longer dared to carelessly waste their last portion of medicinal ingredients.

That Alchemist's entire body trembled as he picked up his cauldron with a green face. After which, he angrily walked out of the place while being filled with fury and incomprehension. 

While he was walking passed Noah, the latter could vaguely hear him muttering to himself in an unresigned manner. “Bullshit. How could I have failed again? My control over the flame was clearly very good. Why is it that they wouldn’t merge?”

“Heh, what a group of useless people…” On the quiet open ground, a soft, ridicule-like laughter suddenly resounded, causing everyone to stare angrily.

As his gaze followed the voice and drifted over, Noah realized that the person who emitted the voice was actually Callum at a remote corner. 

Callum ignored those gazes that were filled with fury. The corner of his mouth contained a cold smile as he suddenly purified the last medicinal ingredient and threw it into his cauldron. 

The faint laughter reverberated in the open ground. “Looks like I am leading in this round. The Alchemist's in the Brabet Kingdom are only so-so…”

With a frown, Noah watched Callum who did not hide his wild arrogance before he suddenly smiled coldly. His calm voice similarly reverberated in the air above. “That may not be so…”

Hearing this voice, Callum’s hands abruptly paused. He raised his head and stared at Noah with icy cold blue colored eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched, giving off an extremely dense ridicule.

Ignoring Callum's displeased gaze, Noah suddenly turned his body around. He waved his hand and began purifying all the medicinal ingredients.

With Noah's flame control and mana sense, it took him only five minutes to purify every ingredient each. Such speed naturally caught the eye of many people in the seats.

However, the last medicinal ingredient on the medicinal formula, the ‘Thick-soil Ganoderma’, was excluded from the purification. 

Back then, Noah had discovered the problem in the examination this time around; every Alchemist's brewing went by well, but it was only ruined once they added the last ingredient.

The reason why so many Alchemists failed to successfully merge it, and create a potion was all because the medicinal ingredient called ‘Thick-soil Ganoderma’ was basically superfluous. It was due to this extra unnecessary medicinal ingredient that caused the fusion to finally fail!

Calling into question a part of the medicinal formula was something that required courage and boldness. Some of the traditional Alchemists trusted the authenticity of the medicinal formula far too much. 

Therefore, no matter how they failed, they would not attribute the problem to the medicinal formula. They would only think that they had made a mistake in the control of their flame, or when merging the components. People who possessed such thinking would undoubtedly fail.

Noah obviously wasn't the one to find the solution first; that achievement belonged to Callum. Noah saw that the latter hid the last ingredient before beginning to purify others, so he simply copied his movements. 

It was due to this that he was able to hurry and compete against Callum. The rest of the people, including Luciana and Martin could only be reduced to being the audience.

On the huge open ground, there were only two spots where flames were rising. Everyone’s eyes focused on the competition ground moved to and fro, watching these two spots. 

Noah and Callum raced against time under the observation of these gazes as they began merging the few medicinal ingredients.

Noah's hand was currently completely removed from the medicinal cauldron. Around a foot away from the medicinal cauldron, his ten fingers began to roll and jump in an agile manner in front of him, as though they were dancing. 

With his control ability over flame, it was completely possible for Noah to reach the stage where he could control the temperature from a distance. 

If one were simply comparing who was more elegant and filled with charm, Noah would undoubtedly be superior.

“Hurry up, hurry up.” As her gaze swept between both parties and observed their refining speed, Luciana repeatedly sent urges, within her heart, in the direction where Noah was at. 

As a member of the Royal Family, she naturally did not wish for a Low Grade Alchemist from the outskirts to obtain the best result within the Brabet Kingdom’s Grand Meeting. 

That would undoubtedly be giving the Middle Grade Alchemists who were participating in this Grand Meeting a hard slap.

Noah and Callum had undoubtedly turned into the focus of attention of everyone at this moment.

“What a fierce competition that races against time.” Seeing the two people whose gaps were no more than five seconds apart, Solomon and the others could not resist shaking their heads and sighing. 

Eliminating the commotion caused by Callum, this contest between people of similar strength had undoubtedly caused the heated blood of many people in the seats at both sides to boil.

“The potions are about to be created.” As they sniffed the faint medicinal fragrance that was emanating from the medicinal cauldrons, Martin and the others, who clearly knew what it represented, began to feel an instant tension in their minds.

At this moment, countless people’s’ hearts were hung in their throat. Finally, it was finished. With a new explosion of medicinal scent, Noah's cauldron was now filled with blue colored liquid. 

And exactly five seconds behind him, Callum succeeded as well. A roar of cheers ensued in the plaza. Noah won by a landslide!


	124. Chapter 124

As he held the glass bottle, Noah slowly exhaled. He raised his head and watched the seats on both sides that had started boiling. A faint smile appeared on his calm face.

"That was close..." "Indeed, he almost lost..." Dolorin and Solomon both exhaled in relief. If Noah didn't win just now, Callum would have two wins. That would be seen as extremely shameful for everyone else, even if Callum lost in the last round.

"Congratulations, mister Noah." Luciana was very happy at Noah's victory. She didn't care if Noah won, as long as Callum ended up on the losing side. By the side, Martin also forced out a smile.

Noah nodded, but did not speak. He turned around and eyed Callum. “This time around, I'll admit my defeat. But I will also hold nothing back in the final round.” Callum shot him an indifferent glance as he appeared uncaring of his loss.

Noah withdrew his gaze and watched those Alchemists who were still throwing their gazes at him. He hesitated a little bit before quietly picking up the remaining ‘Thick-soil Ganoderma’ on the table and carelessly throwing it aside.

Seeing his action, the surrounding Alchemists were at a loss. A little while later, some of them appeared to have understood what the problem was. 

A wild joy gradually appeared on their faces as they threw a gaze that was filled with gratitude toward Noah. After which, they hurried to use the remaining time to begin brewing.

Seeing the participants who had begun rushing to brew, the corner of Noah's eyes glanced at the sand in the hourglass on the opposite wall that was about to completely fall. 

He shrugged his shoulders, lowered his head and packed up the different things on his table. Whether they were able to successfully refine their potions at the last moment was something that he need not worry about.

As time slowly passed by, the deafening cry of joy throughout the plaza had also gradually weakened. After this great excitement the audience finally had enough as they threw their gazes at the busy Alchemists on the open ground. 

Besides this, the gazes of many young ladies on the gallery were sneaking glances at Noah, who had his head lowered as he randomly cleaned up the wooden table in front of him. 

Some time later, the green lights on Luciana and Martin's tables were the first to light up. The two of them moved their potions into their bottles, exchanged glances and sighed in relief.

Behind these two people, there were also more green lights flickering one after another. However, most of the glow throughout the plaza was still red. 

The open ground was overly big and the Alchemists who had received the clue from Noah were merely restricted to those lucky few Alchemists who surrounded him. 

Those competitors who were outside of Noah’s sight range could only stare at the ingredients on the rock table, feeling at a loss. Without knowing where the problem lay, they could only continue to forcefully refine it. 

By adding the ‘Thick-soil Ganoderma’, their attempts all failed in the end without any exceptions.

Additionally, even if one were to exclude the reason mentioned above, there were still many Alchemists that were fighting against each other with their mana senses, along with some careless blokes.

Under these somewhat harsh conditions, the number of competitors in the Grand Meeting was being reduced at a swift pace. 

Perhaps there was not even three hundred remaining out of the original thousand plus people. Watching the situation develop, it appeared that the reduction would continue.

When the sand within the hourglass on the wall completely fell, there was actually only a little over a hundred people still remaining on the open ground. The rest of the people had already been completely expelled during these two rounds.

Noah slowly raised his head. His gaze was thrown toward the old man who was at the spot where the VIP seats were located. Sensing Noah’s gaze, Dolorin revealed a friendly smile toward the spot where Noah was at.

After the time for the examination was over, the next event was to once again conduct the test for the quality of the potions. 

As Noah was unchallenged in terms of flame control and mana sense, it was natural that his potion would have the most outstanding effect in this test. 

The second was Callum. Following behind him was Luciana, Martin and the other Middle Grade Alchemists whose abilities were quite good.

Once the test was completed, the sky had already gradually darkened. A crescent moon slowly appeared at the edge of the sky, shining on the well lit capital.

“Everyone, we will stop here for today’s Grand Meeting. All the competitors, please have a good rest for the night. Tomorrow will be the final round for our Grand Meeting. It is also the important round which decides who will be the champion."

Hearing Fa Ma announcing that today’s examination had ended, everyone in the open ground, including Noah, immediately heaved a sigh of relief. After the two rounds of examination, everyone was indeed a little tired.

As Noah stored the his stuff, he suddenly raised his head and glanced around. He noticed that after Dolorin spoke those words, Callum packed up his things and walked out of the open ground. Before he left, he did not forget to throw a look at Noah.

Noah rubbed his forehead while faintly watching Callum, who was slowly walking out of the plaza. After packing his things, he also followed the crowd of participants and squeezed out of the place.

After exiting the plaza, Noah raised his head and inhaled a breath of fresh, cool air. His tense mind become a little more relaxed. 

He observed those people around him who were coming out from the audience seats. He noticed some of the young ladies were staring at him with glittering eyes. 

When he was about to raise his leg and walk away, a gentle voice was suddenly transmitted from behind him. “Congratulations, Mister Noah.”

Noah turned his head over and eyed the large group of people that had just come out from the passageway behind him. 

At the front of the group of people was naturally Charlotte, Isabella and the older princess Anamaria. Behind them, Reynold and the rest were conversing amongst themselves.

Glancing at Charlotte, whose smile was like a flower, Noah shook his head. “I was merely lucky.” Charlotte believed that Noah was just being humble, so she nodded and didn't say anything else.

"Hehe, Elder Noah, I hope that you'll end up winning the champion position. I'm counting on you~" Isabella shot Noah a coquettish smile as she left the plaza alongside Charlotte. 

"Haha, that was rather amazing, Noah!" *Smack!* Reynold smacked Noah on the back once before introducing the two Dukes behind him. One of them was a muscly man in a military attire, and the other was a short frail looking old man with grey hair.

"Guest Elder Noah greets the two Dukes." Noah courteously bowed to Leon and Vento each, and the two responded with another smack on the back and a nod.

[Do all Brabet Kingdom Warriors have a tendency to smack people on their backs?] Noah mused as he endured Reynold and Leon's smacks. The two Dukes also invited Noah to visit their families in the future, and Noah accepted.

Evidently, he entered their good books, and Noah was rather satisfied with that. Reynold also invited him to dinner after the competition, and Noah couldn't refuse.

He also had to visit the royal castle and investigate the two princesses. But most of all, he had to kill, or at the very least, cripple Callum and make him unable to practice Alchemy.

[Looks like I'll be quite busy for some time. And there's also her...] Glancing at his arm for a moment, Noah felt chills crawl up his back. His body was still afraid of the small snake sleeping on his arm.

"Noah, you're here. Excellent." Hearing an old voice behind him, Noah turned his head around and saw Dolorin walk up to him. "Branch manager Dolorin, is there something you need?" 

"Walk with me. I have something to talk with you in private." Seeing the serious expression on the old man's face, Noah obediently followed behind. The two of them entered a secluded small room in a corner of the plaza.

"I think you can guess that the reason for me asking you to come over is to talk about helping you become the champion.” Once they were alone, Dolorin spoke in a quiet voice.

“I also really hope to take the champion spot. but...” Noah smiled wryly. “I know. The two of you are too similar in ability.” Dolorin nodded his head. "Listen carefully."

Dolorin stopped for a second and released his mana sense. After verifying that there was no one nearby, he continued. “During the competition round tomorrow, there’s not much trick to the examination question. One has to rely on one’s own ability.”

“In that round of the competition, all the things must be prepared by oneself. It means that in the examination tomorrow, the Guild will not give any formula. The competitors must rely on their own collection and go to the limits of their abilities to find suitable ingredients."

"At the same time, assuming that you have prepared a formula, you must also have the sufficient ingredients in order to brew the potion. If you don’t have it, then you can only consider yourself unlucky.” 

Noah's eyes constricted. If he did not have Dolorin to reveal the information before hand, the highest grade potion that he could brew during the examination tomorrow would be those Middle Grade potions that he gained the formulas of in his past life.

However, not just against Callum, that would not allow him to best even Luciana and especially Martin, a disciple of a High Grade Alchemist. 

“Although this kind of examination had a part which leaned toward luck, luck is also one kind of ability. therefore…” Dolorin smiled wryly. 

"Hmm..." Noah fell in thought. Tommorow, cheating won't help him. He's only left with one choice. [I didn't want to do this, but there's no other way to win...]

"Branch manager, do you believe that Callum is able to brew a High Grade potion?" Hearing this question, Dolorin looked a bit confused. "No, of course not. He can already brew Middle Grade potions, but High Grade potions are an entire different realm." 

"Then, I believe I have a way to win." Noah sighed in relief. "I can brew a High Grade potion, but I need ingredients and a formula." Hearing this rather absurd proclamation, Dolorin almost took a step back.

"You can?!" "However, it has only a miniscule amount of success. I didn't want to do it unless necessary." Noah continued. Dolorin calmed down and began thinking in silence.

After a minute passed, Dolorin sighed. "If you succeed, that will be something incredible. But if you fail, we are letting him into the Guild's inner workings and risking a possibility of infighting. Hm..."

"I'm afraid you'll have to gamble, branch manager." Noah replied with an awkward laugh. Finally, Dolorin sighed. "Alright, I'll bet on you, boy. Don't disappoint me."

He waved his hand, and a set of colorful ingredients alongside a medicinal formula appeared on a nearby table, and we're swifty grabbed by Noah.

"Thank you for the chance, branch manager." Noah courteously bowed. "Mm. Go now, you have to be in your top shape tommorow." Dolorin replied in a somewhat heavy voice. He obviously wasn't too confident of Noah succeeding.

With another bow, Noah left the plaza and returned to the Primer Auction House. He didn't eat anything and hurried straight to his room. After setting up noise isolating spells, he sat in a cross-legged position and recovered his mana.

"I only have one chance..." Noah did not like this uncertain situation. He was a person who disliked risks, and preferred being prepared for any kind of situation. He absolutely hated being reliant on luck.

"What happens, happens. I can only risk it..." With a sigh, Noah took out the medicinal formula and began studying it thoroughly. There will be no time wasted on sleeping tonight.


	125. Chapter 125

When the sky had just become bright the next day, this flourishing city appeared like a huge machine controlled by a clock as it began to function in an orderly manner. 

The human flow that passed through the city’s streets were the best attestments to the power of this large machine.

The place within the city which was most crowded and lively today was without a question the Royal Family’s square. 

After yesterday’s competition had been spread around by the audience, there was an increasing number of nobles whose minds were attracted by the news of this soul-stirring Alchemy competition. 

Therefore, the area outside the Royal Family square was already filled with people even though it was still quite early. The colorful mass of human heads extended until the edge of one’s sight.

As time elapsed, a morning ray from the horizon broke through the restraining layer of clouds and shone on the huge city. 

The closed main doors of the Royal Family Square were slowly opened as the sun rose. Immediately, the black mass of people outside began flooding in like the tides.

Noah stood in front of the entrance, looking at the huge mass of people slowly entering inside. It was obvious that he was not entering through there.

After which, he turned around and walked toward the other side of the plaza. As he walked for some distance, the noise had also gradually been reduced by a large amount. 

He turned at a bend and saw that there was another back door at the back of the plaza. It was just that there was over a hundred fully armed knights at this back entrance, totally blocking it.

Noah flashed his iron token and passed by the knights as if they weren't there. The knights didn't stop him and even respectfully bowed as they moved out of the way.

Looking around, Noah found out that Luciana and Martin had actually arrived earlier than him. Beside the two of them, there were quite a number of competitors who had passed the two rounds of the competition yesterday. 

This group of people were conversing and exchanging tips with one another. Once Noah entered, the room gradually quieted down. Everybody looked at him with envious and respectful glances.

Among this group of competitors, Noah undoubtedly belonged to the leading position. This leading position was something that even Martin and Luciana had difficulty comparing against. 

Regardless of where one was, people with ability would always easily obtain other people’s reverence. This did not have slightest change even when one was was placed in the Alchemist world.

“Mister Noah, you are quite early.” Luciana smiled as she spoke and eyed Noah, before turning around and moving forward. Noah felt more of the bewitching scent around him.

He secretly looked around with a corner of his eye and noticed that no other Alchemist was behaving unnaturally or in a trance. He then decided to try something out.

"Ah, Your Highness, it's truly wonderful seeing you today." Noah bowed just like a noble would, his manners impeccable. Luciana gave him a surprised gaze, before smiling in a charming manner.

"Haha, is that so?" As Luciana giggled, the strange scent seemingly thickened in the air. Noah didn't miss this, and he put on a gentlemanly smile as he continued. "Indeed, Your Highness. The moment I saw you, all of my fatigue from yesterday disappeared."

"Oh, you're teasing me, Mister Noah." She replied somewhat bashfully, making her appear more charming than before. "How could I ever? Everything I say is the truth."

The two spent some time talking to each other like this, and Noah realized that the more he praised her, the thicker the scent flew around him. And surprisingly, no one had a confused expression on their faces. 

They all behaved as if Noah's behavior was completely normal. Seeing this, Noah arrived at one conclusion. [They've all been charmed beforehand. But when? If it was yesterday, then shouldn't have General Rank Mages noticed something was wrong?]

Noah was beginning to get more and more interested into this princess in front of him. “The examination today is the final round. Mister Noah, we cannot lose to that fellow.”

Apparently very confident of her charming ability, Luciana even held out her hand in front of Noah. He kneeled down in front of her and kissed her hand obediently.

"I will definitely try my best, Your Highness." Noah seemed to have a tough time letting go of her hand, and even looked a little sad upon doing it. Luciana was evidently pleased with that.

The two of them stopped once Dolorin and a group consisting of the upper echelons of the Alchemist Guild slowly walked down from the second story.

When he saw that Noah had looked over, Dolorin gave him a friendly smile. After which, he led everyone and walked down to greet Noah and the others.

Noah chatted with them before he suddenly sensed something and turned his head around. He saw Callum slowly walking in from the spot where he had come in from earlier.

Following Callum's entrance, the originally noisy large hall immediately became quiet. Numerous gazes that contained all sorts of mostly negative emotions paused on the former.

Callum's gaze was unconcerned as it swept passed Dolorin’s group. Completely ignoring them, he swaggered over to the door that lead from the hall to the open ground. When he passed by Noah, his footsteps paused and he shot him a glance.

Seeing the disrespect Callum just showed, Luciana's face became somewhat dark while Dolorin’s became green. As a Superior Grade Alchemist, it was the first time he was ignored by someone to such an extent.

Noah roughly estimated the time before turning around and headed toward the open ground. Behind him, Luciana helplessly followed. Dolorin, on the other hand, stood in the same spot and violently ground his teeth before leaving the hall.

Solomon found this amusing and he let out a small laugh. "You better hope that Noah will win, otherwise you'll be disrespected a lot more in the future, hehe." Dolorin harrumphed before shaking his head. "I don't know..."

Solomon wanted to inquire what he meant, but he restrained himself. It was possible that Dolorin gave some help to Noah, and that wasn't his place to barge his nose in.

As the group slowly walked out of the passageway, a piercing sunlight suddenly shone upon them. Their field of view suddenly widened and ground shaking cheers also invaded their ears like the tide.

Noah raised his head and eyed the extremely crowded audience seats. He turned his head and smiled to Luciana standing by his side before walking toward his position in the middle of the open ground.

When some sharp-eyed people in the audience seats saw that Noah and Callum appeared, a racket immediately occurred. Countless people began privately conversing among themselves.

"Hey look, it's Noah! He's the Alchemist who invented the Grine Water I told you about!"

"That's him? He looks so young. And that young boy next to him is a Low Grade Alchemist? What's he doing here?"

"Ah yes, that's Callum Martyr, he was the one who almost won two competitions yesterday!"

"Really? His name also sounds very familiar, I feel like I heard it somewhere..." 

"You don't know? He's actually Lady Charlotte's ex fiance! I heard that once Lady Charlotte broke their engagement, Callum somehow miraculously developed a genius talent in Alchemy."

"That's him?! Isn't he only eighteen years old now?!" 

"Yes. And Noah next to him is twenty. Both of them are incredible geniuses, I don't know which one's better."

"A battle between geniuses. This is something you only see once in your entire life! I'm so glad I came here!"

Ignoring the conversations that were transmitted from the audience seats, Noah quietly arrived at the position he held yesterday. 

As time slowly flowed by, more and more competitors flooded into the open ground. All the competitors who had entered the open ground acted similar to Noah as they sat down and waited. 

Most of those who could persist until this point had quite a good ability. None of them wanted to dejectedly leave the competition ground in the final round because of a small, careless mistake.

When the bright sun was high in the sky, the seats had all been filled with countless crowds. *Clang!* In an instant, a clear bell sound resonated through the open ground for a long time.

The moment the bell sounded, Noah raised his head to watch the spot in front of the VIP seats where Dolorin was at.

On the high platform, Dolorin emitted a cough as his gaze swept through the entire place. A long while later, the noisy place slowly quieted down. An elderly, calm tone sounded beside everyone’s ears. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, today’s examination will be the most important round of our Grand Meeting. The final victor will be the champion of this season’s Grand Meeting. Therefore, do your best today with all the effort you can put forth!”

When Dolorin’s voice fell, the human crowd in the audience seats which had waited for a long time immediately let out an excited and unified loud roar. The deafening roar shot directly past the crowd.

Dolorin pressed his hands together as his gaze slowly swept across the entire open ground. The deafening noise was gradually reduced as he did so. A vigor-filled loud voice echoed throughout the entire open ground for a long time.

"The Guild will no longer give any help to the participants during the third round of the competition. You will each have to rely on yourself for everything including the formula or ingredients. You must successfully brew a potion within your ability during the time that has been allocated. The victor will be the one whose potion is the highest grade along with being the most useful."

When the competitors in the open ground heard the clear voice that sounded by their ears, most of them were stunned by the unexpected examination prompt. Immediately, there were some competitors whose faces were among the first to become pale. 

These people did not prepare any suitable medicinal formulas or sufficient medicinal ingredients. For such an examination prompt, the result of failing to meet these two requirements was very obvious. Their chances of failure would increase greatly.

Although Noah had already known the examination problem beforehand, he still put on an act and changed his expression slightly. 

After all, he would inevitably be doubted if he maintained a clam expression when faced with such an unexpected proclamation.

As Noah controlled the change in his expression, his gaze also swept all around him. 

He discovered that although Luciana and Martin were initially somewhat stunned when they they heard the examination question, they managed to swiftly recover. The expressions on their faces did not appear too ugly.

He once again shifted his gaze toward Callum a short distance away. Currently, the latter was also tightly knitting his eyebrows together. 

A while later, he put on an indifferent expression. “No matter what kind of strange and unique task that you come up with, the champion position will be mine."

“Since everyone is already familiar with the examination rules...” On the high platform, Dolorin slowly raised his hand and abruptly waved it down. A faint sound reverberated throughout the entire place. “The third round of the examination will now begin!”

Once Dolorin’s voice fell, the open ground, which had many private conversations, instantly quieted down. From the audience seats, countless gazes stared intently at the over one hundred competitors on the huge open ground below, waiting for their splendid performance today.

The competitors on the open ground did not do anything. Instead, they remained silent and mused with a frown, thinking of a method to handle the examination this time around.

Luciana and Martin, on the other hand, slowly walked closer to their tables and beckoned with their hands. Two somewhat ancient looking cauldrons containing a faint, deep aura appeared on the tables.

The unique thing that these cauldrons had were many small runes carved on the sides of the cauldrons. Seeing the amount of runes on them, many participants gasped. 

Noah looked at the two cauldrons, but he had no reaction to their appearance. He wasn't an Alchemist, so he didn't know how much of a value those cauldrons had, but he was sure that they were of excellent quality.

Therefore, he immediately withdrew his gaze and waved his hand. Many shiny magical ingredients fell on the wooden table. Looking at it, there was at least twenty different ingredients. 

This was the first time since Noah began learning how to brew potions that he had to brew a High Grade potion made up of so many ingredients.

Sighing, Noah lifted his head and glanced around him, only to realize that there were quite a number of competitors who had already began raising their flame and preparing to purify their ingredients.

He then began orderly setting up the ten supplementary ingredients on the table, such that it formed a circle. The ten main ingredients were also set up inside the supplementary ones and formed a smaller circle inside.

What he was doing caught everyone's eye. As Noah was standing on a higher platform, it wasn't hard to notice him. 

Seeing that he was setting up ingredients in a detailed manner instead of beginning purification, many nobles began speculating among themselves.

"Hm? What's Noah doing?" Solomon looked at Noah as well. Hearing him, the rest of the people in the VIP seats threw their glances in Noah's direction. Those movements and the way that Noah positioned the ingredients made Solomon recall something.

"Those are High Grade ingredients! Don't tell me..." A realization dawned on him. Solomon jumped from his seat in shock, attracting everyone's surprised gazes. "Dolorin!" Solomon turned his head and looked at Dolorin sitting next to him.

"What is the meaning of this?! Is this something you did?!" Dolorin looked at the raging Solomon calmly, although his face showed a hint of uneasiness. "Calm down Solomon. He requested those ingredients from me." 

"What?" Solomon looked stunned. He slowly sat down and eyed Dolorin by the side. "Tell me, what did he say? And don't let out a single detail!" With a sigh, Dolorin explained his and Noah's conversation yesterday. 

Solomon's expression darkened greatly. "That boy... So the reason why he wanted to see me demonstrate it was for this?" He muttered to himself, turning his gaze to Noah. 

"What happened over there? Some kind of problem?" Hearing Solomon's previous rage, Charlotte, Anamaria and Isabella quietly conversed among each other. 

"I don't know. They're too far, I can't hear them correctly." Isabella shook her head, her swaying blonde hair mesmerizing the young nobles sitting behind them.

"I wonder, could it be related to what Mister Noah is doing?" Anamaria pointed in Noah's direction. The three women looked over and wondered just what was Noah doing.

Then, under the interested gazes of many people, Noah finally moved. Five small flames appeared on each of hands, shooting out at the High Grade ingredients! "It begins..." With a final check on his soul orb, Noah's face became deadly serious.


	126. Chapter 126

Hearing the murmurs of the audience, Luciana and Martin turned their heads and looked at the source of the commotion. 

"What is he doing?" Luciana asked herself, while Martin's eyes slowly began shrinking to the size of a pinhead.

Noah's movements, the small flames, the High Grade ingredients on the table and the way they were set up reminded him on only one thing. "He's crazy!" 

Hearing Martin's sudden proclamation, Luciana turned to face him. "Oh, you know what he's doing, Martin?" "He's trying to create a High Grade potion!" Martin exclaimed. Luciana was now also bewildered as she stared at Martin.

"Those movements, the way the ingredients are set up... I've seen this multiple times from my teacher, I'm sure of it!" Martin was so worked up he almost ruined the ingredient he was purifying. 

Even Callum looked at Noah's performance with surprise and interest. As he wasn't a disciple of a High Grade Alchemist, he didn't know what Noah was doing, but he felt that it wasn't anything good for him. 

"So he had a trump card like this..." Muttering to himself, Callum turned his attention away from Noah and onto his ingredients. He didn't have the time to focus on someone else's work.

Noah embued all ten of the small flames with his mana sense one by one. After the fifth one, he felt a noticable strain on his mind. He sucked in a breath of cool air and grit his teeth tightly.

The small flames flew over and entered each of the ten supplementary ingredients. The ingredients now began to slowly take off into mid air. 

"Isn't that the same as what he did to me?" Reynold looked at Noah's actions and it reminded him of the Branded Poison.

"But why would he do the same thing to ingredients?" Eugene also looked attentively, not removing his eyes off Noah for a second. 

And he wasn't the only one. This was the first time many people here saw an Alchemist perform Alchemy in this way.

On the contrary, the High and Superior Grade Alchemists were all too familiar with this method, but were surprised that a Middle Grade Alchemist was trying a perform it. Was he wishing for death?

"It seems alright for now..." Dolorin mumbled to himself. He slowly began getting tenser by the second. "No, the ingredients are too slow and they're shaking. It'll be hard to get them to circle now." Solomon fondled his beard as he spoke in a heavy tone.

He was right. The amount of flames that needed to be controlled, plus the fact that each ingredient had it's own level of purity it needed to reach for the merging to be successful forced Noah to divide his concentration on each of them simultaneously.

This created a far bigger strain on his mind than the time when he was expelling the Branded Poison, resulting in the ingredients being purified at a much slower pace than usual. What should be taking around fifteen minutes at most took far longer for Noah.

Beads of sweat formed on Noah's forehead, rolling down his face and falling on the wooden table and the floor, making a puddle on it. His entire body was already drenched in sweat to the point that he looked like he just bathed with his clothes on.

First circle, second circle, third circle... Around half an hour passed already, and most of the Alchemists here either gave up as they weren't prepared for the task at hand, while the others finished with the purification of ingredients and were starting their merging.

Noah was still forcing the supplementary ingredients to circle around in mid air, drawing more and more gazes on him as time passed. After another fifteen minutes passed, the ingredients finally reached a hundred full circles. 

[Now!] The purified medicinal liquids were forced into one at the same time, and Noah raised the temperature of his flame to heat up the liquids and allow easier merging. "He's doing rather well... It's slow and shaky, but it's getting there..."

Dolorin was feeling rather distraught. Noah looked like he was about to pass out, and every part of his body was sweating. However, no one could deny that he wasn't succeeding in his endeavor. 

"I'm honestly surprised myself..." Solomon gripped the armrest on his chair. His heartbeat began slowly increasing. "But these are just the supplementary ingredients, the main ingredients are a lot harder to control..."

"Ah..." Dolorin felt his hopes going down again. No matter how hard Noah tried, he barely succeeded in merging the supplementary ingredients after forty five minutes. 

The next step was even harder, as he would need to purify ten main ingredients, alongside constantly changing the temperature of the merged supplementary ingredients. That would be equal to eleven flames.

Noah now moved the merged medicinal liquid into a glass bottle on the table. He kept one flame constantly heating up the liquid inside, while he created another ten small flames and shot them at the main ingredients.

As he did that, sparks of pain lit his brain on fire with every new flame. When the small flames began purifying the main ingredients in the air, it was even slower than before.

Suddenly, Noah felt a heat traveling down his nose, preventing him from breathing properly. At the same time, Luciana and Martin finished with their brewing. The potion liquids in the glass bottles let out powerful medicinal scents, causing them to smile.

When they finished the brewing, they raised their heads and looked at how Noah was doing. Immediately after, they gasped. Noah was in a sorry state, drenched in sweat with two rivers of blood flowing down his nose and onto the floor.

Martin was shocked that Noah even succeeded up to this point, such a feat was pretty much unimaginable for a Middle Grade Alchemist. And yet, no matter how slow, Noah still persisted with this terribly risky method.

The entirety of the people in the stands now had their eyes glued to Noah. No one was paying any attention to Luciana nor Martin, conversing amongst themselves and wondering just what kind of a potion required a Middle Grade Alchemist to strain himself to this point.

The High and Superior Grade Alchemists were in a bigger ruckus than them. Seeing this feat, they didn't even dare to make a noise, lest it somehow distract them from seeing this spectacle. Dolorin and Solomon especially felt their hearts in their throats.

"Will he succeed?" Dolorin wiped his sweaty palms. A hope began rising in his mind. Solomon remained quiet, not speaking a word. 

He expected Noah to fail any second now, but he couldn't help himself think how wonderful would it be for Noah to succeed. 

As they all had mixed feelings brewing within them, Noah finally made a circle out of the main ingredients. He had to make a full hundred circles this time as well. The problem was that he only had an hour left. 

First circle, second circle, third circle... Callum also finished brewing his potion now. The medicinal scent released from it outshined Luciana's and Martin's. The two noticed this, and their faces darkened. 

"Bastard..." Martin shot him a vicious gaze, but Callum didn't care. His eyes were on Noah, observing his strange and slow method of purification. "What is he doing? He isn't even using distilled water. Is he trying to raise the quality of the potion by excluding it?"

Callum was sure of his victory. The potion that he brewed was the best among the best among Middle Grade potions. 

But, seeing what Noah was doing made him feel a rising uneasiness. [What am I feeling spooked for? This potion is the best I can brew. I'll definitely win!]

Time passed, and there was only half an hour left until the allocated time. Noah was now in his fifty first circle. Suddenly, he felt piercing pain in his eyes. His vision became red, and he could feel hot red blood flowing down his cheeks.

Everyone in the plaza now had their gaze stuck on him. When they saw blood flowing from his eyes, many of them gasped and averted their eyes. "What is he doing... Isn't he basically killing himself like this?" 

Charlotte, Anamaria and Isabella also had a hard time looking at Noah's pitiful appearance. And yet, no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't avert their gazes. Down on the ground, Luciana and Martin cringed as they imagined the amount of pain Noah was going through.

The tension rose, as the allocated time quickly approached. Eighty first circle, eighty second circle, eighty third circle... 

Intense ringing suddenly spread throughout Noah's ears. As he felt his hearing became muddled, blood began pouring out of them. 

"Dear Goddess..."

"I've never seen anything like this..."

"Is he crazy? How is he not killing himself like this?" 

"Is he actually going to die?" 

Everyone present had their own thoughts at seeing this young Alchemist in front of them. Luciana put her hand over her mouth, and Martin looked on stupefied. "Eighty nine, ninety... He's still going!" Dolorin whispered to himself. 

Solomon felt cold sweat form all over him as he looked on in awe. This performance was something he never saw in his entire lifetime. [If he succeeds now, then will he truly become a Legendary Grade Alchemist in the future?]

Right now, the old Alchemists felt a sort of excitement that they haven't in many many years. All of them began to silently pray to themselves as they stared at the youth down on the ground. 

The sand in the hourglass continued falling, and only ten minutes remained for Noah to finish. Ninety fifth... Ninety sixth... Ninety seventh... Only a minute remained!

"Come on, come on!" The Alchemists could feel their hearts beating in their throats. In perfect unison, they silently cheered Noah on. Ninety ninth... Hundred!

[Now!] With his shaking and numb hands, Noah immediately merged the main ingredients into a medicinal liquid, throwing it inside the glass bottle. The merger between the two liquids began, and the countdown to the end of the competition started.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six... Just then, the liquid inside the glass bottle calmed down, and an intense medicinal scent enveloped the entire plaza. The medicinal liquid inside was now purple, with small white dots reminiscent of stars in the night sky.

Just then, a single second later, a loud clang spread throughout the entire plaza. The Alchemist competition was finished! Following the clang, the seats remained in silence. 

A few moments later, a loud roar shook the entire Royal square. The ones who were roaring the most were the High and Superior Grade Alchemists. 

"H-he succeeded!" 

"A High Grade potion! It's actually a High Grade potion!"

"I cannot believe this! This is crazy!" 

"Madman! What a crazy person!" 

Dolorin and Solomon were among the ones that cheered the loudest. "Haha! Who would've thought! He succeeded! Hahahah!" Dolorin let out a hearty laugh as he felt a boulder falling off his chest.

"I really underestimated the little fellow! To think that he could win in such a manner! He'll enter history!" Solomon was so happy he felt like dancing. 

"A High Grade potion?!" Martin looked on at the shiny potion in the wooden table, utterly baffled. Today, his entire world felt like it was crashing down. 

Unlike him, Luciana was shocked, but a small devilish smile creeped up on her lips, although she hid it a moment after.

"Haha, Noah is really an amazing guy! I never underestimated him for a second!" Raynold laughed out loud, slapping Eugene on the back loudly. Next to them, Charlotte and Isabella also looked on in amazement.

"I cannot believe this..." Callum looked at the High Grade potion with terror in his eyes. Although he didn't want to believe it, he had no choice but to. He lost badly today, and the position of the champion belonged to someone else.

With weakened legs, he finally landed on his backside as he sat on the ground, his face pale. The blow he received was far greater than Martin. An uncomfortable numbness spread throughout his body as he suddenly gained an urge to cry. "Mother..."

Callum wasn't the only one who was numb. Noah was barely standing on his shaky legs, so he had no choice but to try and use his arms to support himself. Blood continued to drip from his nose, eyes and ears.

[I succeeded.] Noah inspected his body's condition. His sight and hearing was impaired, his throat was dry, his entire body was aching in pain and shaking, his soul orb was almost completely empty, and his brain was still hurting.

[Not too bad.] Noah barely stood up straight while resisting the urge to just fall unconscious. He listened to Dolorin's excited voice. "And now, it's time to evaluate the potions!"

Just like before, Noah pushed a button on the side and dropped his potion into the hole. A dense green light shot out from the mirror on his table. His consciousness began to fade as he listened to Dolorin's speech.

"... I proclaim that the title of Alchemist competition champion belongs to... Noah!" Another roar shook the plaza as everyone began clapping to congratulate the new champion of the Alchemist competition.

From this moment forth, the youth by the name of Noah will shake the entire Brabet Kingdom! 

After hearing the proclamation, Noah was approached by Luciana. "Mister Noah, congratulations. That was truly a breath taking performance." Noah shook her hand, and he felt the strange sweet smell around him again.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Noah spoke slowly, having to gasp for air between each word. With a smile, Luciana politely excused herself and left. Noah glanced at Martin on the side, who was still stupefied.

Just as an another wave of fatigue washed over him, Noah heard three women's voices behind him. "Mister Noah!" Charlotte and Isabella rushed to his side, offering him support, which Noah promptly refused.

The last thing he needed right now was to feel a woman's body. He needed a bath, a change of clothes and a good sleep. "Lady Charlotte, Supervising Elder Isabella, I'm afraid that I require some rest. I feel rather tired."

"Of course, of course, Elder Noah. I'll take you to the auction house immediately!" Isabella seriously nodded. In her eyes, Noah's pale look reminded her of a corpse. She quickly pulled him away with help from Charlotte and arranged a carriage to the auction house.

Once there, Noah had to fight off the rising fatigue as he washed himself of the blood and sweat. After bathing, He immediately hurried back to his room and laid in his bed. He fell asleep immediately.


	127. Chapter 127

Slowly opening his eyes, Noah sat on the bed and looked around the room. This room of his in the auction house remained undisturbed. 

Looking outside the window, Noah could see the rising sun. "It's morning. Looks like I've slept for an entire day."

Getting up, he changed into new clothes that were given to him by Isabella. They were eye catching light blue mage robes, along with his white cloak artifact he took from Jenna's corpse.

Just as Noah was finished dressing himself, someone knocked on the door to his room. "Come in." Seeing with his mana sense that it was a maid, Noah allowed her entry.

*Creak* The door to the room was gently pushed open. A young maid entered inside while carrying a basin of clear water. "Your Excellency, Supervising Elder instructed me to take care of all your needs." 

The maid bowed respectfully as she spoke. "No need, I can do it by myself." "Yes." The maid obediently handed over the basin and stood to the side with her gaze staring unblinkingly at Noah.

After washing his face, Noah felt his stomach groan for food. "Young miss, can you bring me to see the Supervising Elder now?" He asked with a smile.

"Ah, yes." The maid slightly blushed upon seeing Noah's handsome face. She quickly bowed again and led the way from the front.

After arriving in front of the door to Isabella's room, the maid bowed once again and left to her other duties. *knock knock* "Come in." A seductive voice that drove many people crazy was heard from inside.

"Supervising Elder, I hope I'm not disturbing your work." Noah entered with a smile on his face. Isabella raised her head and immediately smiled back. "Ah, Elder Noah, you're awake. You slept for an entire day."

"Creating a High Grade potion is very exhausting." Noah mused to himself. "Hehe, that was an amazing performance. You've captured the entire audience. I have already notified the family, and they're all very thrilled about your success."

"That's good." Noah leaned back in his chair. "What happened after I left? I don't remember the results clearly." With a slight nod, Isabella called over a maid to bring over some food and tea.

"You were the victor, naturally. The second place was taken by that young boy Callum, who swiftly disappeared after the competition. Martin was third, while princess Luciana was forth."

"As expected." Noah nodded as he began eating. Isabella stared at him for a few moments before a teasing smile crossed her lips. 

"Hehe, Elder Noah, I've noticed that you usually have a habit of eating here. Could it be that you're already considering this room as yours?" As she spoke, Isabella lazily stretched her back like a cat, showing off all of her delectable parts.

"Do not worry, Supervising Elder. I will always stay as a Guest Elder." Noah shook his head with a smile as he continued eating. "That's not what I meant, haha..." Isabella merely gave it a wry smile and left it at that.

"Oh, before I forget, you were invited by branch manager Dolorin to visit him at the Guild as soon as you can. It's about your reward." Noah nodded in response and finished the rest of his meal. 

"Thank you. I'll leave immediately." Without wasting a moment, Noah stood up from his chair and left Isabella's room. "My, what an interesting fellow. I wonder what heights he'll reach?" 

A different, cold smile flashed across Isabella's lips, striking fear into a nearby maid who came to collect the plates. 

At the same time, Noah swiftly walked towards the Alchemist Guild. The Mages he bypassed would occasionally throw deeply respectful and envious glances at his back.

On the other hand, once he entered the Alchemist Guild, all the Alchemists would stop and give him a bow and a friendly smile. Their attitudes were a lot warmer than the ones that belonged to Mages.

Noah simply smiled to everyone and hurried over to the west side of the Guild. The two guards from before quickly allowed him undisturbed passage. Walking through a few halls, going up some stairs, Noah arrived in front of a spacious room.

On the door there were words "Branch Manager" written in gold. Noah knocked on the door and waited for Dolorin’s voice to be emitted from within before he pushed open the door and entered.

Dolorin was now in good mood, and had a smile on his face as he dealt with his paperwork. When he saw Noah enter, his mood became even better. "Congratulations, young friend."

Noah slowly walked over and smiled wryly. "Branch manager, although I succeeded, it was very dangerous for me. I believe that was all mostly luck." 

“Hahaha...” Dolorin laughed to himself. He did not say anything unnecessary as his palm stroked the storage ring on his hand. Immediately, a purple-silver colored scroll appeared in his palm. 

His palm slowly rubbed the scroll and he spoke with a smile. “With effort comes reward. This is the medicinal formula for a High Grade potion, the ‘Thawing Spirit Potion’. Young friend, from now on, it belongs to you.”

Noah played with the scroll in his hands. The scroll was both purple and silver in color and had a cold feeling when one held it. 

On the bright and clean scroll’s surface, there were some complicated lines and ancient markings, giving it an aesthetic feeling when one looked at it. 

Noah carefully held the scroll and slowly pulled it open. He roughly glanced at the information written on the scroll and realized that what was written on it was no different from what Solomon had told him. Only then did he sigh in relief.

Nodding his head, he carefully placed the medicinal formula for the Thawing Spirit Potion into his spatial ring. When he raised his head, he saw Dolorin handing over a piece of purple colored metal plate over.

“This is the token for an Honorary Elder of the Guild and is also a reward for the champion. If you take this token, you can obtain help from any Guild branch in the continent.” 

"The best part is, this so called Honorary Elder doesn’t need you to do anything. It is just a hanging title. As long as you are willing, you can ignore anyone’s dispatchment, including me.”

Noah nodded slightly before receiving the token in passing. 

“Alright, Young Friend, you have obtained the reward. Next, you can wander around the Guild or the capital. Although the Grand Meeting is over, the capital will be quite lively for a period of time. The current you is also a famous person. If you were to walk out, the people who want to be acquainted with you may well have to queue out of this city. Haha.” Dolorin teased.

Noah helplessly shook his head. "What happened to Callum?" Hearing his serious tone, Dolorin's face also changed. "I heard that he was scouted by a number of forces throughout the capital, but he refused them all."

"He was last seen getting on a flying bird of one of the transportation companies and leaving the capital." Noah's brows raised a little. "Oh, he left?" [He probably returned home or is on his way there. How perfect.]

"Thank you for the help, branch manager. I won't disturb you any longer." With a polite bow, Noah left the room. Dolorin waved to him as he saw the young man exit. "What a good day it is today. Hehehehe..."

Noah slowly walked out of the Alchemist Guild under the numerous gazes that all contained various meanings to them. 

He stood at the main entrance and watched the sun raise to the peak of the sky. With the end of the Grand Meeting, his entire body had suddenly felt much more relaxed. Only without the pressure to absolutely take the champion spot could he truly sigh in relief.

"I have the formula now. When will she wake up though?" As he recalled Queen Medusa’s warning, Noah’s palm could not help but quietly touch the seven-colored snake that was twined around his arm while it was fast asleep. 

He did not know if it was because of Queen Medusa growing increasingly stronger, but the current small snake frequently descended into a deep slumber. 

Occasionally, while Noah was meditating, his keen senses would occasionally sense that there were two spirits which were suppressing and fighting with each other within that small body.

"There’s trouble everywhere…” Without having the ability to help the seven-colored snake, Noah could only watch them fight. 

Although the final victor in this battle would definitely be Queen Medusa, the small snake at least helped Noah obtain the right to be able to discuss terms with Queen Medusa.

Seeing that Queen Medusa had suddenly spoke the last time, it was likely that this Thawing Spirit Potion was extremely important to her. 

Since Noah now had nothing to do, he decided to visit the Esford Family. It was time to pressure them on the subject of the Phantasmal Beanstalk. 

If everything went smoothly, he would get his hands on the Phantasmal Beanstalk by the afternoon.

Noah slowly walked over to the Esford Family mansion. The guards in front didn't try to stop him, they bowed and smiled as he passed by. The butler from last time quickly led Noah inside and went off to find Reynold.

Once Reynold arrived a big smile appeared on his face as he noticed a new purple token dangling around Noah's neck. “Congratulations. The current you can be considered the man of the moment in the capital. There’s no one who does not know you.”

Noah smiled as he swept his gaze upon the surroundings. His eyebrows raised a little when he didn't notice Charlotte around. 

"Ah, Charlotte is currently in the Royal palace. She was invited by the two princesses for some matter." Reynold appeared to understand Noah’s uncertainty as he explained with a smile.

"I see..." "Also, I have good news for you. We found the Phantasmal Beanstalk." *Clap, clap*! Reynold suddenly clapped his hands. 

A moment later, the room’s door which was tightly shut, was pushed open. A maid carried a porculean flower pot which contained a plant as she walked in.

When this plant appeared, a strange scent which calmed people’s spirit immediately spread throughout the entire room.

Noah sniffed the strange fragrance as his gaze instantly paused on the plant in her hands. This plant was completely green in color, without any flowers on it. 

It's entire body was filled with small green vines with different colored leaves slowly swaying around, even without the wind. The most attractive part of this plant was that it would become transparent every so often.

"Young friend, this is the Phantasmal Beanstalk. It is said that it's capable of increasing one's mana quality. It's undoubtedly precious. I hope you'll take good care of it." "Of course, Your Excellency." Noah replied with a smile, but his gaze was still glued to the beanstalk.

He only calmed down when the Phantasmal Beanstalk was safely stored inside his spatial ring. "Thank you, Your Excellency." Noah bowed.

"No problem, the Phantasmal Beanstalk belonged to you the moment you expelled the Branded Poison. Come now, I've told the servants to prepare a feast for today's lunch!" Reynold stood up and pointed to a nearby door.

Since Noah was free now, he decided to stay and build a solid foundation of the two's friendship.


	128. Chapter 128

Right after Noah left the Esford Family mansion, the small pocket-sized diary on his side began trembling. Noticing this, Noah opened the small diary and a Primer Auction House imprint flew out.

"Guest Elder Noah, we have just received an invitation to the Royal Family castle. Looks like you've caught the hearts of the two princesses, hehe." A sweet and seductive smile leaked out from the magic imprint.

Noah's expression became serious. "Oh, that's great. When am I supposed to show up?" As he was talking, he began taking all of his artifacts out of his spatial ring and hiding them under the white cloak.

"On this invitation it says this evening, close to midnight. It will be in the Royal garden, a nice place for looking at the moon." Isabella replied. "Alright. I'll come right away. I still have to prepare a suitable gift for the two ladies." 

Noah's smile gradually turned menacing as he disappeared into a dark alleyway. 

After putting on the meat jelly artifact and changing his appearance to an old man with a long beard, he approached the two Paragon Rank Warriors standing at a dead end of a small unnoticeable alley. 

Feeling the fluctuations coming off his body, the two Paragon Ranks stood aside. Noah ignored them and opened the door leading to the Black Market. Spreading his mana sense outside, Noah began searching for anything interesting in the market area.

The market was full of all kinds of medicinal ingredients and various magical metals. Many Mages fiercely negotiated between each other for a price better suited for them.

Noah looked at all these treasures indifferently. There wasn't anything that caught his eye. Just then, as he was prepared to leave, he noticed something that he recognized. [This is...]

In front of him stood a small room rented out by a low rank noble family. The Mage who sat behind the counter emmited magic fluctuations belonging to a Paragon Rank Mage.

In front of him were some materials and plants in good condition. But the thing that caught Noah's eye was a small dry looking branch that was completely blood red in color. On the small branch there were many small eyes that piercingly stared everywhere.

[That's the Coagulating Blood Branch!] Noah looked at the branch, and his eyes shined. The Coagulating Blood Branch was a useful ingredient for healing potions, especially for Middle Grade potions.

But for Noah, it was an ingredient that can allow him to create a new artifact! As Noah only had two Officer Rank artifacts, he wanted to find a way to gain more. Now, he actually has a chance to create a fearsome poison attribute artifact!

Without wasting a moment, Noah took out his iron token from his spatial ring and placed it on the counter for the Mage to see, as well as releasing his Officer Rank pressure slightly.

The Mage was evidently shaken upon seeing him, and once Noah pointed with his finger on the Coagulating Blood Branch, the Mage quickly spit out his price: one Middle Grade potion.

Noah grabbed one Middle Grade potion out of his spatial ring and threw it to the Mage while grabbing the Coagulating Blood Branch. The Mage stored the potion with a satisfied expression and bowed to Noah.

[It's in good condition. Excellent.] Noah smiled as he stored the branch inside his spatial ring. He left the Black Market and returned to the Primer Auction House for the time being.

......

When the huge clocktower in the capital showed 11 hours after noon, a handsome young man with brown hair walked in front of the Royal palace. Two Paragon Rank guards quickly stood in his way, brandishing their weapons.

The young man smiled warmly before pulling out an invitation card and handing it out to the guards respectfully. He also, accidentally or not, flashed a purple token that dangled around his neck.

The guards moved aside without a word. Noah entered inside the royal palace and was greeted by a an old butler with a thick curly beard and hair. Noah was reminded of a goat or sheep upon seeing him.

"Mister Noah, I am the personal butler of the Royal Family, Cabral. Please follow me." The butler respectfully bowed, and Noah could feel magic fluctuations belonging to a Paragon Rank Mage around the old man.

Cabral walked in front with his hands behind his back, similar to Noah. The two made their way to a beautiful garden filled with tall trees that gave off a shiny glow, many colorful flowers and even a pool on the side.

Next to the pool was a small wooden platform, and on it, a large wooden table and several comfortable chairs. Princesses Luciana and Anamaria were already present, chatting amiably with Martin and Charlotte.

Once they noticed Noah coming in their direction, Luciana's smile widened, and her eyes seemed to shine. "Mister Noah, you're here. I'm so glad that you decided to join us."

She quickly got up and flashed an enchanting purple dress. Hearing her, the rest turned their heads and also greeted Noah. 

"My apologies if I'm late, Your Highness. I had to prepare the best outfit to grace your eyes with." Although he said that, Noah was still wearing the same clothes as this morning.

Luciana looked at Noah from bottom to up. Although it seemed like a normal gaze, Noah could tell that Luciana was observing him like a monster ready to pounce onto it's prey. 

The sweet smell entered his nostrils again, and Noah's smile brightened. With his mana sense, he could see that the strongest person present here was Luciana herself. Martin was an Alchemist, and everyone else was at Paragon Rank.

Noah was debating whether to strike at the princess right away, or wait and see what she wanted to do to him. 

After a few moments, he decided to wait. After kissing Luciana's hand, he sat on a chair next to her and poured himself a cup of tea.

The tea wasn't anything special, but Noah realized that it somehow tasted extremely sweet and delicious, addictive even. [This isn't normal tea, did they put in their blood inside?]

Succubi were demons whose whole existence revolved around being attractive. Naturally, this meant that even their blood and other liquids tasted incredible to males of all species. 

Noah now began thinking that perhaps the two princesses weren't demon worshippers. Instead, it was possible that they were half blood succubi! It would explain their unnatural attraction and the sweet taste of the tea.

[Interesting...] "What excellent tea this is, Your Highness. Whoever brewed it has my praises." Luciana smiled when she saw Noah drink the tea. "Ah, thank you, Mister Noah. It was in fact done by my sister, she has a passion for brewing tea."

Anamaria on the side lightly blushed, showing off unexpected loveliness. Martin next to her couldn't help but feel attracted to this new look of the usually serious princess.

Seeing this, Charlotte on the side looked away, seemingly displeased. She continued drinking her tea in silence. 

As she did so, a feeling of heat began welling up inside her body. [Huh? How strange... I know that weather is usually warm here, but isn't it getting too hot here?]

Charlotte's cheeks flushed, and her breathing began getting heavier. Noah didn't fail to miss this detail. [An aphrodisiac? What are they planning to do?]

Just like Charlotte, Martin also felt a pleasant heat spread throughout his body. His crotch area especially became hot, and a bulge appeared on his pants. Anamaria and Luciana showed lustful smiles as they looked at each other.

Anamaria turned her head and looked at Cabral, the latter now showing a terrifying smile. In the place of an old man's face was a goat head with horns and razor sharp teeth, looking like needles.

[A goat demon. Not surprising though, Royal Families aren't strangers to affiliating themselves with demons.] Charlotte and Martin had no reaction to Cabral's face changing. They were too deep in an illusion.

Cabral took out a small black stone and broke it in his hand. A second later, a magic formation that encompassed the whole royal garden swiftly activated, creating an invisible barrier that shielded those inside from the outside sounds and looks.

Right now, for anyone who might pass by on the outside wouldn't hear nor see anything from the inside. [They even set up an invisibility formation. How nice, it saves me the effort.]

Noah also began panting heavily to not seem out of place. He even went a step ahead and opened his robes a little, showing his chest. 

"Haah, it suddenly became so hot here. I hope that her Royal Highness isn't displeased with my actions." Luciana looked at Noah's chest with lust in her eyes before raising her head.

"Hehe, not at all, Mister Noah. In fact, I'm also feeling quite hot~" The two sisters giggled, and the amount of the sweet smell inside the formation greatly increased. "What do you say we go for a swim, Mister Martin? It's the best way of getting rid of the heat."

"Haah, that might be a good idea, Your Highness, but I'm afraid I don't have a swimsuit..." Although Martin behaved indecisive, his eyes were already tracing every part of Anamaria's body.

"Hehe, no need to feel ashamed, we can swim naked." "Naked?!" Hearing her offer, Martin's eyes almost fell out his sockets. His breathing intensified, and he looked like he was just about to pounce on her.

"Of course. And, Lady Charlotte can also join us." Charlotte's expression reddened like a tomato, but she didn't refuse. Under this powerful demonic charm magic, a Paragon Rank Mage was powerless.

With a seductive smile, Anamaria pulled the two of them away to the pool. The princesses winked to each other, and Luciana now stood up from her chair and sat on Noah's legs.

"Your Highness..." Noah seemed taken aback, but he didn't resist. Seeing this, Luciana smiled victoriously. She began tracing her fingers all across Noah's body, feeling every part of it.

"Mister Noah, can I call you just Noah?" "Of course, Your Highness." Noah blushed and innocently turned his head to the side. "Hehe, no need to be so shy. I allow you to look at me."

Luciana grabbed Noah by the chin and met her eyes with his. Suddenly, her eyes changed into demonic pupils, and they began shining with a rose colored light. "Noah, tell me, will you become my servant?" 

"Yes, I will..." Noah answered somewhat absent mindedly. "Then, will you take my Heart Print willingly?" Luciana put her mouth next to Noah's ear as she softly whispered. 

"I..." Noah muttered. "I..." "Yes?" Luciana extended her hand under his robes and began tracing down his body ever so slowly. At the same time, she grabbed Noah's left hand and positioned it on her supple chest.

His fingers digged into her soft flesh, and Luciana let out a satisfied moan. "I..." Noah finally spoke. "I am sick of this farce." "Eh?" Before Luciana could understand his words, Noah's fingers suddenly dug deep into her sensitive womanly part.

Pain flared up from her chest, and her eyes opened wide. Just as she was about to say something, Noah's hand detached from her breast and grabbed her throat with incredible force.

"Guh!" Luciana was unable to utter a single word. Noah's hand pressed on her throat like a vice. [He's not under my charm!] A thought surfaced in her mind. 

Next to the pool, Anamaria was in the process of having fun with the naked Martin and Charlotte. Suddenly, she heard Luciana groan in pain and turned around. "Sister!" 

Noah merely glanced at her and released his pressure. Anamaria was forced to kneel down on the cold stone floor. [Not so fast!] Luciana also released her Officer Rank pressure, negating Noah's and releasing Anamaria free.

She then touched a necklace around her neck and poured mana inside it. With a shine, Luciana was enveloped into a rose membrane shield, separating herself from Noah.

"Haah..." After breaking free, Luciana touched her neck. It still hurt, and she could feel the imprint of Noah's hand on it. "Cough... What amazing strength, Mister Noah. And you are also not affected by my charm. Could I ask, how?" 

"You don't need to know, succubus half-blood." Noah remained seated in his chair as he answered in an emotionless tone. "You knew?!" The two princesses looked surprised. Even General Rank Mages failed to notice their origin, yet this Alchemist found out?

Noah didn't reply. Instead, he took out a thick black book. Once the book was released, the two princesses changed their expressions greatly. "That's a demonic spellbook! What are you planning, Mister Noah?" 

Noah looked at Luciana for a moment, before opening the book. "Niolo, come out." On his words, a red demon soul the size of a head flew out. "Noah my friend, what enemy is it now?" 

Although Niolo didn't do anything this time, Luciana and Anamaria were suddenly enveloped with fear. The fear they felt wasn't the one caused by difference in Ranks. Instead, it was something uncontrollable.

It was instinctual fear caused by being in the presence of a naturally superior being! "Isn't that... A Greater Demon?!" Luciana spoke with chattering teeth. Her sister was already so overwhelmed that she fell unconscious.

"Hm? This scent... A succubus? No, it's a bit weaker." Niolo turned around and eyed Luciana and her unconcious sister. "A half-blood..." A lustful expression appeared on Niolo's face. "Why don't you come here, girlie? Uncle is really nice to little girls, you know..."

Sweat appeared on Luciana's whole body, but she couldn't do anything but stay frozen in place. "Stop, Niolo. If you do anything to her, I will burn you to nothing." Suddenly, Niolo's face stiffened when he heard a gentle voice.

He knew very well that Noah wasn't kidding. When Noah used that voice, he was deadly serious. "Haha, it was just a joke. Don't worry, girlie, uncle is a gentle demon..." 

Luciana looked stunned seeing how meek this terrifying demon soul seemed when he heard Noah's voice. 

Before she could say anything, Noah spoke again. "Now then, Your Highness, you should sit back on your chair. We have a lot to talk about."


	129. Chapter 129

Seeing as how she had no chance of doing anything when faced with Niolo, Luciana could only grit her teeth and obediently sit down. "Also, would you mind telling those two to dress themselves?"

Martin and Charlotte were still standing motionlessly while naked. "Dress yourselves." With a wave of her hand, the two naked people grabbed their clothes and began putting them on.

"What do you want from me? Seeing that you came prepared, I can only come to that conclusion." Turning her head, Luciana questioned Noah. "I'm interested. What was your plan in doing this?" 

Hearing Noah's question, the princess sighed before speaking again. "We were planning to use a Heart Print on that dumbass over there and use him after he inherited the Medicine King's knowledge. We would have our own High Grade Alchemist slave then."

"I see." Noah nodded in approval. "And you were planning to corrupt Charlotte into a succubus and take control of Four Seasons Garden in the future, right?" Luciana nodded.

"Good. I would've done the same. But I can't let you have Charlotte." A thought flashed through Noah's mind. In his past life, Charlotte was only mentioned to have died in one of her sect's trials.

But why would Four Seasons Garden make a trial with the purpose of killing the future sect leader? On the other hand, if she was turned into a succubus and the sect leader found out, she would be undoubtedly killed.

This was something that made sense to Noah. He faced the ashen Luciana again. "What was your end goal in all this? Just power? You don't look like a power hungry person, Your Highness."

"Of course not, if that was the case the Court Mages would've disposed of me immediately." She scoffed, and a trace of hatred flashed across her eyes. Clearly, she didn't view Court Mages in a positive light.

"The goal was to envelop the entire Brabet Kingdom in Pandemonium, so that it can belong to the demons." Noah's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Pandemonium?" 

Not many Mages know what Pandemonium is. Only the top brass of the Church of Light and the Court Mages would know such a thing. A smile formed on Noah's lips.

[Pandemonium is a demonic invasion that will turn a certain area into a part of Hell, allowing demonic beings to easily cross over into the material world.]

The person who starts the Pandemonium is recognized as a ruler of the corrupted area, and all the demonic beings are theirs to command. "Amazing." Noah's sudden word surprised Luciana. 

Noah turned his head to her and put on an angelic smile, appearing harmless. "Princess, I will help you throw the Brabet Kingdom into Pandemonium." "Huh?" Luciana was stunned. 

It was widely known knowledge that anyone who associated with demons was an enemy of the world. Logically speaking, Noah gains no benefit from helping her with this plan. Unless... 

Luciana's face darkened just as Noah opened his mouth. "I only have one condition. Make a pact with me and surrender your spirit source." The girl's face immediately fell.

What Noah just asked for was basically complete subsurvience. She would be his slave for as long as she existed, unable to disobey his orders. But the alternative was far worse.

"What will you do, Your Highness? Become my subordinate or be handed over to the Court Mages? I trust that the entire Royal Family might suddenly disappear..." "No!" 

Luciana shivered in fear. She knew very well how horrible her fate would be if the Court Mages caught wind of her origin. Death wouldn't be an option for her at all.

"Then?" She eyed Noah's smiling face. Right now, that face looked really punchable. After a few moments of thinking, Luciana could only give up. 

"I, Luciana Faens, am willing to serve under your command and become your most humble servant! Your future commands shall be my eternal mission!"

Noah could feel a small fluctuating thread between their souls now. "My Lord, please accept your humble servant's loyalty." 

With heavy words, a small shiny blue thread flew out of Luciana's forehead and landed into Noah's palm, disappearing inside it.

Right now, if Noah were to wish it, he could send his mana sense through the small thread and use it as a shortcut to Luciana's mind, avoiding her mana sense defense and destroying her mind immediately. 

It could be said that once Noah had the spirit source, it was akin to him holding Luciana's fate in his hands. "Excellent. Your Highness, would you mind waking up your sister? I want her spirit source as well."

Luciana could now never dare to refuse Noah's request, so she obediently woke up Anamaria and explained the situation to her. After that, the terrified Anamaria also made a pact and handed over her spirit source to Noah.

"What good cooperation we have, Your Highness, haha." Noah returned to his relaxed Alchemist persona, but Luciana didn't dare relax herself. She now knew that behind that smile hid an indifferent monster with an unknown origin.

"Then, Your Highness, I'm afraid I have to excuse myself. Please don't mind me and continue what you wanted to do with Martin." 

After he returned Niolo to the demonic spellbook, Noah stood up and took out a purple silver colored scroll out of his spatial ring and threw it at Luciana. "Take care of this for me. I'll return for it one day." With that, Noah left the royal garden, leaving behind two scared girls.

"Sister, what do we do now? How do we know that his goal is the same as ours?" After some time, Anamaria spoke up anxiously. "I don't know, but I have a feeling that he definitely has something planned..."

Luciana sat in deep thought. She was wondering what origins did this youth of only mere twenty years have. From his sudden appearance to now, he's been too mysterious.

......

Noah returned to the Primer Auction House in a happy mood. Today was a good day. 

Right now, with his Honorary Elder position in the Alchemist Guild, the Guest Elder position in the Primer Family, and being an owner of two members of the Royal Family, he was pretty much untouchable.

The Brabet Kingdom was an excellent starting point in building his influence and connections. Now, there was only one thing left to do. "Callum Martyr, it's time to end your life."

Tonight was the last idle day. Tommorow, he would leave the capital and hunt down Callum. Just as Noah was thinking about it, he felt the seven-colored snake slither down his arm and onto the bed.

"Your Highness..." Noah looked at the small snake in front of him. Right now, there was no affection it usually held in it's eyes. A moment later, the snake's body began emitting a piercing shine. 

The whole room was covered in the blinding light. Since Noah knew what this meant, he picked up the soft blanket off the bed and spread it over the shining snake, whose body began growing in size.

"We meet again, human..." A cold, lazy voice came out from under the blanket. Noah kneeled down on one knee respectfully. "We meet again, Your Highness."

Queen Medusa showed her gorgeous face behind the blanket. Since she didn't take off the blanket, it meant that she was still naked this time around as well. "I trust that you did what you were told..." 

"Of course, Your Highness." Noah raised his head and smiled. Hearing his response, a smile formed on Queen Medusa's lips, making for an enchanting sight. She extended her delicate snow white hand in front of him.

"Give it to me." She spoke in a gentle manner. "Of course, Your Highness." For the first time, an emotion that suggested she could no longer wait appeared on that bewitching face of Queen Medusa. 

Noah waved his hand, and a piece of paper appeared in his hand. Queen Medusa looked dumbly at the piece of paper presented to her.

Immediately after, her expression changed to that of anger, as she grabbed Noah by the neck and held him in mid air. "What is this trash?" 

"The medicinal formula for the Thawing Spirit Potion, Your Highness." Noah's expression didn't change at all as he replied. "Do you think I have never seen a medicinal formula in my life? This is just something you made."

Queen Medusa's words were right on the mark. On this piece of paper, Noah merely copied the text from the real formula, but he changed every number and ingredient to a completely random one. 

Who knows what would be the result of someone actually following this formula and attempting to brew a potion.

"Give me the real formula now, or I'll make you beg for death." Queen Medusa's voice turned vicious, and her grip lightly tightened. "I'm afraid I cannot, Your Highness. It's currently in a very special place."

Noah wasn't so stupid to believe Queen Medusa's words. She may swear that she won't kill him all she wants, but he would never fall for it. "Ooh? Then, I presume I won't find it in your ring?" 

"By all means, please." Noah took off the spatial ring on his finger and willingly handed it over. Indeed, the formula wasn't inside, but Queen Medusa was surprised at the sheer amount of mana crystals in the ring.

"Then, I presume I can only Soul Search you." Queen Medusa laughed coldly as she threw the ring away. Contrary to her expectations, an even bigger smile appeared on Noah's face.

"That would certainly be an interesting idea, Your Highness. By all means, please." Looking at Noah's relaxed and eager expression, Queen Medusa's instincts suddenly told her that if she really tried Soul Searching Noah, she would be in danger!

[Impossible, how could this pathetically weak human pose any threat to me? But my instincts can't be wrong...] 

Every Monster Race member trusted their beastial instincts, as they were an excellent way of telling apart danger from safety. Although Queen Medusa was haughty and arrogant, she still trusted her instincts.

And now, these same instincts were telling her that Noah posed danger to her. Queen Medusa's brows furrowed deeply. She didn't want to admit it, so she just threw Noah onto the floor.

"Despicable human, didn't I already tell you that I would spare your life if you hand me the medicinal formula. Is that not enough for you?" Noah got up and dragged a nearby chair over for himself to sit.

"Your Highness, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I had to go through a lot of trouble to gain the formula. If I gave it to you so easily, I'm afraid that I would feel unsatisfied."

"Stop giving me this glib-tongue of yours. Just tell me your conditions." Queen Medusa said seriously. 

"It's nothing much, Your Highness. I want you to make a contract with me that prevents you from killing me for ten years, and I want you to save me from any life threatening danger for a single year." Noah said.

"Hmm..." Queen Medusa began thinking to herself and Noah patiently waited. "Fine, but only if you keep your fingers to yourself. Touch me one time with any wrong thoughts, and..." She traced her finger in front of her neck.

"Also, if you don't take out the Thawing Spirit Potion in one year's time, I will imprison you inside my tribe and let my tribesmen vent out their frustrations on you. In the end, I'll kill you slowly once our ten year agreement ends."

A cruel and sadistic smile showed on Queen Medusa's face as she looked at Noah. "That is acceptable." Noah muttered to himself, before an idea dawned on him.

"Ah, Your Highness, could I trouble you to do me one favor? The payment will be one High Grade potion of your choice." Queen Medusa raised her eyebrows in interest, and nodded.

"When I tell you to, I need you to grab someone and not let them go." "That's it?" "Yes." Noah nodded with a smile. "Alright. This Queen will grant your request." Queen Medusa replied lazily as she lied on the soft bed. 

"Thank you, Your Highness." Noah didn't waste time and hurriedly presented a contract to Queen Medusa. The two of them bit their fingers and stomped a bloody fingerprint on the contract, which then burned into blue flames and disappeared. 

"Now that that's finished, I won't wake up for a while. If you need me to appear, call me with your mind." Queen Medusa yawned and her whole body began shining again. 

"Yes, Your Highness." Noah respectfully bowed and when he raised his head, a small seven-colored snake was looking at him on the bed. It carried a longing expression, as if it was hungry.


	130. Chapter 130

The sun rose on a small town next to a mountain. The people walked around the streets busily, and many adventurers looked for a place to stay the night. On a nearby hill, an ancient and decrepit castle stood tall, withstanding the test of time.

A small distance away from the old castle was a gravestone, positioned in front of a sturdy tree. In front of the gravestone, a young boy kneeled on both his knees as he cried.

"Mother, I have failed you..." Tears fell from Callum's face and moistened the hard dirt. "Although I promised to become someone glorious, I have failed. Although I promised to better the ordinary people's position in the world, I failed. Mother, this son of yours is... Trash!"

Callum smashed his head into the dirt continuously, not caring about the pain. At the same time, there was a visitor in front of his family's ancient castle. "I'm finally here."

Noah sized up the large stone castle. There was nothing impressive about it, and it seemed like it would fall apart at any moment. At the front of the castle were two fire breathing statues, and their power barely reached Paragon Rank.

After lingering around the front of the castle for a while, the people inside it were shocked. *Boom!* Huge stones axles revolving sounded, and the two sides of the door opened slowly.

“May I ask... Who are you looking for?” A chirpy birdlike girl’s voice sounded. From behind the door, a green haired girl roughly 8 to 9 years old peeked out.

“I am Noah, looking for your family’s ancestor.” Noah caressed the little girl’s hair. “My Lord! I’m sorry my Lord, this is my daughter, I did not pay attention to her for a while…”

At this moment, a middle-aged man with the energy waves of an ordinary person finally appeared from the door, looking at Noah in fright.

"Kushy! Hurry up and bow!” The middle aged man hugged and placed the girl behind him, making her do a bow.

From the middle aged man’s knowledge, although Noah seemed rather young, he had the terrifying energy waves which could only be compared by their Paragon Rank ancestor.

Moreover, the Martyr Family was in decline for a long time already, so they did not have much backing. "It's no problem. I'm here to meet your family ancestor. Please relay the message to him."

"Of course, My Lord! Please enter, I'll immediately inform the ancestor!" After he finished bowing, the middle aged man led Noah inside the castle, before running away in a certain direction.

After waiting for a few minutes, the man came running back. "My Lord, the ancestor told me to lead you to him. Please follow me." With a nod, Noah followed behind the man leisurely.

The man led him to an isolated part of the castle, to a door made of black wood. After bowing for the last time, the man quickly left. 

As an ordinary person, he had no qualification to participate when Ranked Mages were speaking among themselves.

Noah knocked on the door, and a shriveled old man with a long beard that reached the floor opened them. "Welcome, friend. What brings you here?" The old man spoke in a raspy voice.

From how he looked, he didn't have many years of his life left in him. "Hello, I'm here for someone else." As Noah opened his mouth, he quickly grabbed the old Mage by his face.

"Soul Search." The old man could barely react to Noah's movements, but the realization of danger did him no good. In a few moments, his bleeding corpse fell on the ground with a thud.

"So he's here. And he's outside." Noah looked out the window in Callum's direction. Seeing him in the distance, a smile appeared on Noah's face. He took out the skull cross artifact and activated it. "As an Officer of magic, I command thee, Chain Explosion."

Just as Callum was about stand up, three huge explosions shook the entire land! "What was that?!" Looking over, Callum could see that his family's castle was no longer standing, and the flying debris fell everywhere, making dust rise into the air.

The explosions were so destructive that the nearby town was already half destroyed, with many casualties. The remaining people screamed as they fled away in terror.

"Nooo!" With a yell, Callum hurried over with all his might. Suddenly, something caught his eye as he was running. 

It was a figure clad in blood red light exiting the burning ruins which were formerly known as the Martyr Family castle.

"You!" Callum's eyes constricted as he recognized who the figure was. "Callum Martyr, we meet again." Noah dispelled the blood red shield and walked out of the ruins.

"You did this? Why?" Callum asked, still somewhat in disbelief that his entire family died just like that. It happened too suddenly for him to digest. "I didn't come here to talk to you. Die." 

With an emotionless voice, Noah swung his hand, releasing a blue mana slash at Callum. "Nghh!" In just a nick of time, Callum suddenly moved to the side, barely avoiding the mana slash. 

"As expected, you won't be someone easy to kill." Noah blandly commented. What Callum just did was incredible. His movements were close to being unseen, even by Noah, an Officer Rank Mage.

[What was that? It looked like a technique practiced by Warriors...] Noah realized that this was a great chance to inspect just how tough a chosen of the World Will truly is to kill. "Another one." 

Noah fired more mana slashes at Callum, and the latter would always miraculously manage to dodge. Seeing as how mana slashes were useless, Noah decided to change the attacks. "What do you want from me, you bastard?!" 

Ignoring Callum's angry yells, Noah now attached with spells. "Crimson Javelin." Seeing the javelin made of pure fire, Callum's face darkened. 

[Not good, I need to run!] Turning around, Callum quickly summoned all his strength to run away.

The javelin of flame rushed toward him, and Callum could feel that he would instantly die if he was hit. "Hurmph!" He again tried to dodge, and the javelin passed by him just barely, burning his clothes in the process.

"Hm?!" Noah was astonished by what he just saw. [The javelin... It slightly curved in midair?] Although it was barely noticeable, but this slight curve allowed Callum to once again survive by the skin of his teeth. 

"Dammit! Noah, just you wait! I will never forgive you for killing my family!" With a furious roar, Callum ran off into the nearby forest. [The World Will interfered and saved him... But this shouldn't be. How can it breach the rule it always followed?]

Noah didn't immediately give chase. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration as he thought. "Interesting. This never happened in my previous life. Let's see how much the World Will can protect you, chosen." 

As he began running, Noah threw spells after spells at Callum. Fireballs, Fire Drakes, Crimson Javelins, Chain Explosions... 

And yet somehow, Callum would always survive. Perfectly aimed projectiles would curve and miss, Callum would sometimes slip and fall, avoiding the shrapnel from all the explosions, sometimes he would dodge mana slashes...

[So projectiles are useless. Let's see how he fares against physical attacks.] Noah used his superior speed to quickly catch up with Callum and launch a punch. 

*Bam!* Missing by just a centimeter, Noah's punch destroyed a nearby tree, crashing it down. *Bam! Bam! Bam!* "Argh!" 

After three more consecutive punches, Noah's fist only slightly graced Callum's right arm, causing cracking sounds to emit from it. Callum's broken right arm lifelessly swung in the air. 

"Noah, why are you doing this to me?! We have no grievances with each other, we barely even spoke to each other!" Callum yelled out. 

No matter how hard he thought, he just could not understand why was this man trying to kill him. Moreover, he even wiped out his entire family.

"Callum, please do me a favor and drop dead." Noah replied in an icy voice as he launched a kick. Callum took out a shield with a ferocious bear picture on it and placed it in front of him.

The shield began glowing, and an illusion of a bear appeared on the shield, attacking Noah's leg. *Boom!* The bear illusion was powerless in it's attempt to stop Noah's attack and was destroyed along with the shield.

"Grah!" Noah's leg passed through the shield and smashed against Callum's side. Callum spewed blood from his mouth as he was shot through multiple trees. 

Not giving him any chance at rest, Noah swung his leg again, trying to crush the latter's head. Once again, Callum barely managed to move his head right before Noah's foot passed by his cheek, leaving a cut on it.

This time, Callum pulled out a small black skull and threw it at Noah as he ran. The skull exploded in midair, spreading black smoke throughout the forest. [An artifact that can muddle a Mage's mana sense. Not bad.]

The black smoke might have been useful against Officer Rank Mages, but Noah's mana sense didn't have a single problem keeping Callum in his eyes. Right now, Noah didn't give chase. His body slowly disappeared into the shadows...

......

"Haah haah haah" After running for a hundred meters in a random direction, Callum found a small cave, which he quickly entered. In silence, he slowly took out a bottle of water and drank some.

He didn't dare make a sound in case it revealed his position. He focused his ears and waited. His heart was beating loudly, giving the boy an appearance of a scared rabbit.

Time passed agonizingly slowly for Callum. After what he believed to be half an hour, the boy decided to exit the cave and leave. [He's gone... Is he? I had to have escaped...]

Just as Callum was slowly becoming calmer, a cold voice sounded out from the outside. "There you are." Immediately, Callum's eyes constricted in terror, and he could feel his heart jump into his throat. 

[He found me! I can't escape!] Turning around, Callum ran deep into the cave like a rabbit would in front of a wolf. Just as he moved, a crimson fireball flew into the cave.

*Baang!* The explosion destroyed the entrance to the cave, and the ceiling began cracking and breaking, before ultimately falling on Callum. Noah stood outside, calmly observing the destruction of the cave.

His brows furrowed, and he moved closer. *Boom!* Suddenly, a light blue illusion of a fist covered in armor broke through the stone. 

Surprisingly, Callum didn't suffer much damage apart from some bruises on his body. Behind him stood a light blue illusion of a knight, standing three meters tall.

"A Middle Grade artifact. So you had that as well..." Noah touched his chin as he said. "Enough. I won't run away anymore! Noah, I'll let you know that I won't die easily!" Callum pointed his finger at Noah, and the knight illusion hacked at him with a sword.

"Alright, it's about time we finished. Niolo, come out." The demonic spellbook opened, and a fist sized demon head flew out. "You called, Noah my friend?" "Kill him."

"Haha, of course!" With a malicious laugh, Niolo released his General Rank pressure. The knight illusion was destroyed like paper under it, and Callum suddenly smashed against the ground with his knees.

"A demon?!" Callum was now absolutely terrified. Demons were the creatures of horror for anyone normal on the continent. They were famous for being known as powerful and tough to kill.

But, Noah and Niolo were also greatly surprised. When he released his pressure, Niolo went all out. Logically speaking, Callum should've already become a meatpaste. And yet, apart from being incapacitated, he was actually fine?

"You can still survive that?" Noah exclaimed, before quickly rushing over with an intention to smash Callum's head in. "No!" Callum yelled in fear. Suddenly, a reverse symbol ‘j’ became bright and visible on his clothes.

A strong attraction force acted on the boy's body and pulled him away so hard that he was almost flying as he moved backwards, out of the range of Niolo's pressure.

"What the fuck was that? Did you see that?" As Niolo looked stunned, Noah quickly shoved him into the demonic spellbook and ran after Callum.

With his mana sense, he was able to ascertain that Callum shockingly moved for about three hundred meters away!

*Bam!* A gravitational force strongly pulled Callum towards a white magic circle on the ground. With a violent bang, the boy crashed like a meteor. "Cough cough, what the hell is that madman? He even has a demon?" 

Callum's whole body was shaking in fear and pain. Even though he was a Ranked Mage, an eighteen year old boy was still just that. His mental strength was beginning to waver, and panic was overtaking him.

"I don't want to die... I don't want to die..." Repeatedly mumbling to himself, he continued running aimlessly. 

He didn't know where he ran, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be as far away from Noah as possible. [Will I have to use it? My final card...] Gritting his teeth, he slowly pulled out a small, thin knife and held it in his hand.

Although he seemed fine on the outside, using a Middle Grade artifact drained a lot of his mana and even took a hundred years of his lifespan. And that was only for a single attack. If he used this knife, the consequences might be even worse.

"Dammit! Noah, I swear that I'll take revenge for today!" "You won't have the chance." Noah's voice suddenly entered his ears, shaking him to the core. Turning around, he could see Noah rapidly lessen the distance between the two.

[How does he always know where I am?! I should be out of the range of his mana sense!] Callum's expression fell. He gripped the small knife artifact in his hand and slashed it at the air next to him.

At the same time, Noah stopped in his tracks. His senses now told him that there was danger in front. Pulling out his skull cross artifact and the beast teeth necklace, he stood in a defensive position, waiting for an attack.

An attack didn't arrive, but a surprise definitely did. When Callum slashed at the air, Noah could see the surrounding air twist and turn, before breaking apart like glass, revealing endless blackness on the other side.

"You tore space... A Space Element artifact?!" Noah looked dumbly at the shocking appearance of the Void. As he was standing, Callum threw himself into the crack which subsequently closed immediately after.

Noah's brows deeply furrowed. He released his mana sense and observed everything in a two kilometer radius. 

After waiting for a few seconds, he could sense that almost two kilometers away from him, a crack in space appeared, and Callum dropped out in a bad shape.

"To think that you were so hard to kill... It appears that it's impossible for me to kill those chosen as long as the World Will is awake." Noah now only had one last card that could possibly work.

[Your Highness, please help me with that favor you promised.] As he ran after Callum, Noah beckoned to Queen Medusa with his mind. [Don't forget the payment.] A cold voice in his mind responded.

The small snake around Noah's hand began shining piercingly before steadily growing in size. Then, a naked appearance of an extremely beautiful woman showed itself to his eyes.

"How troublesome..." Queen Medusa commented as she looked at her naked body. "Your Highness, I have taken the liberty to buy you a dress, but I'm afraid that the current situation is rather troublesome for me."

"Fine, fine. Where is he?" Noah pointed in a certain direction and Queen Medusa extended her right hand, emitting a suction force. 

At the same time, almost two kilometers away, Callum felt a force pulling him backwards. No matter how he tried to resist, he was just like an autumn leaf in the wind, powerless to do anything.

The suction force pulled Callum through bushes and crashed him through the trees. With each tree he crashed into, his bones would painfully creak, and his organs would receive damage.

Finally, he was violently grabbed by the throat and suspended in midair. The person who grabbed him was shockingly a beautiful woman. Seeing her face and naked body, Callum's heart skipped a beat.

He even momentarily forgot about being chased to death by Noah. "Hmph." Queen Medusa let out a cold snort as she felt the young boy's gaze on her body. She raised her left hand and plucked out both of Callum's eyes!

"Aaarrggh! Your Excellency, please forgive me! I was chased by someone and accidentally came upon you! I-" "No, it wasn't at all accidental." An all too familiar voice rung out in Callum's ears. "Noah?!"

"Thank you for your help, Your Highness. Please just hold him for a while." "Humph, hurry up." As he was hearing the two people converse, Callum felt Noah grab both of his arms.

Suddenly, he tore them off! "Aahhh! Noah, what do you want from me?! Stop! Stop!" As Callum was hopelessly flailing around, Noah grabbed both of his legs and tore them off as well, making him let out another scream.

"Please stop! Why are you doing this?!" Noah didn't answer and showed two fingers into Callum's ears all the way to his eardrums, shattering them. From all the pain he sustained, Callum fell unconscious.

"Mm, you can let go of him now, Your Highness." Seeing that he was really unconscious, Noah let out a satisfied smile. "Humph, where is that dress you mentioned?" 

"Here." Seeing Noah take out a beautiful red dress, Queen Medusa snorted in disdain. "I don't like it. Get me a new one." "Oh, I see. Do you have any preferences?" Noah shrugged his shoulders.

"Skin tight, purple, and embroidered with gold." Queen Medusa responded. "Alright, what are your sizes?" Hearing the question, Queen Medusa's demeanor changed into a threatening one.

Noticing this, Noah sighed helplessly. "Your Highness, it can't be helped. What if it's too small or too big?" "Not my problem." After scoffing, Queen Medusa began shining and shrinking in size.

The small snake coiled around Noah's arm and returned to sleep. "Oh well. I'll just tell Luciana to get me one." With a sigh, Noah turned his attention to Callum. 

With a wave of his hand, a box appeared on the ground next to him, and Noah gagged Callum's mouth with a red ball before proceeding to stuff him into the box. He then turned his attention to the boy's spatial ring. 

Looking inside he found what he was looking for. A small thin knife appeared in his hand. Looking at it, Noah's smile deepened. It was time to inspect his gains.


	131. Chapter 131

Deep in a remote mountain range surrounded by lush vegetation that exuded a peaceful atmosphere, inside a natural cave half-way up a certain peak, Noah sat on a flat stone, examining the small knife.

"It's indeed a Space Element artifact." He exclaimed after thoroughly inspecting it from every side. He then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, who would've thought that I would get my hands on a Space Element artifact!" 

The Space Element was an ancient element that only ever existed in legends. The ancient texts described Space Element Mages as being able to traverse incredible distances in a blink of an eye, and even use the power of the Void for themselves.

Unfortunately, in today's Era, there are no Mages with an affinity for that Element. The only thing remaining were Space Element artifacts, items so rare that only Court Mages could possibly have them.

And since there are no Space Element Mages, that means that it's impossible to craft such artifacts. For that reason, these artifacts are considered priceless antiques, and even Court Mages can't use them without permission.

Storing the small knife away in his spatial ring, Noah took out a small blue book out of Callum's ring next. "Three Thousand Lighting Movement. Another technique for Mages, similar to my Thirty Six Strikes of Zenwu." 

Noah now understood why Callum was able to move so fast that he could dodge mana slashes from an Officer Rank Mage. It actually had to do with this.

"This technique has three levels: Lightning Flash, Instant Lightning, and Three Thousand Lightning. It seems specifically catered to weaker Rank Mages like Officers and Paragons." Noah mused to himself as he read through it.

Lightning Flash was a level of minimal movement, used for dodging attacks that were too fast to be dodged normally. This was also the level Callum was at.

Instant Lightning went a bit further, allowing the practicioner to combine attacking and dodging. Noah was sure that, if Callum reached this level when they fought, he would be able to outrun him, an Officer Rank Mage. This was rather scary.

But the third level, Three Thousand Lightning, was even scarier. It would actually allow a Paragon Rank Mage to go toe to toe with a General Rank Warrior! 

"Amazing. But I wonder, what would happen if I combined Lightning Element or Wind Element on top of it?" A thought flashed across Noah's mind.

If he could combine this with Lightning Element, then his speed would definitely increase. And if he added a Wind Element spell on himself... His speed would be terrifying.

"I definitely have to practice this method as soon as possible. This could become an amazing trump card for saving my life." Noah thoroughly inscribed every word into his mind before storing the book.

The last thing was an ancient and old scroll. "Suction Spell Formation." Noah was wondering how Callum managed to fly away from under Niolo's pressure before. It turns out it was due to this.

This suction spell formation model was able to create a powerful gravitational force, which would forcibly pull magic artifacts or lifeforms that had previously been engraved onto a place where the suction spell formation had been set up.

Due to it's utilisation of many ancient techniques, the force of attraction was very powerful, and its speed was extremely high. Even an Officer Rank Mage would be helpless against it.

"Hmm, I saw something like this in one of the libraries in my past life, but it was in a sorry state. This scroll, on the other hand, has around 40% of the original formation's content. Not bad." 

Although the formation could be described as incomplete and useless for anyone stronger than Officer Rank, Noah decided to keep it. It might prove useful, at least for a while.

Although he was satisfied with his gains, Noah left with mixed feelings. He realized that, if he didn't have Queen Medusa with him, he would definitely be unable to kill Callum. 

There was also the topic of Callum making Middle Grade potions as a Paragon Rank Mage, and him being able to resist General Rank pressure that could certainly kill him.

Middle Grade potions can only be brewed by at least Middle Grade Alchemists because they have a mana sense, allowing them to purify and control the flame better. Callum shouldn't have been able to do that, and yet he was.

"The three years should come to an end soon. The World Will is going to be forced into slumber, giving me ten years of peace. I need to prepare better next time a new chosen comes into play..." 

......

A few days later, under a nearby city, the Black Market continued to bustle with Mages all day and night. A figure cloaked in a black cloak entered a special zone called the slave market.

“Lord! Come to us, we have various types of slaves. There are even two Snake-Women from Tageer Desert, and their skills are top notch, you know!”

“Lord! Look over here, beautiful rabbit girls, fiery fox tribes. There are also beauties from the cannes tribe, with incredible strength. They are extremely good looking and long lasting. Moreover, they only cost 800 mana crystals each…”

There were many shops in this slave market, hence, to attract people over to their stores, these shops had all kinds of gimmicks.

Noah walked around as he listened to the various calls of the shop owners. The provocative rabbit girls and fox girls revealed a large amount of skin, only having on a few pieces of clothing the size of a palm to cover their private parts. 

Their fluffy white rabbit tails and fiery red fox tails were bunched together. It was an extremely sharp contrast to the shy expressions of those rabbit and fox girls.

He finally approached a shop that seemed slightly strange. This shop was obviously a lot larger than the surrounding shops, and there were also two tall green orcs standing guard. 

Just by the presence and the construction costs of this shop, the value of the other shops were immediately lessened.

In addition, there was a thick curtain draped in front of the door, and one could not see anything inside unless they lifted the fabric. This heightened the curiosity of the passersbies.

[Just like in my previous life, it's here...] Noah showed his Officer Rank pressure, and the two orcs stepped aside, even opening the curtain for him. 

"Welcome, dear guest! What might this humble servant do for you?" An alluring voice came from behind Noah. It was the slave merchant, a female Mage.

She wore robes with a high collar, yet a small heart shape was cut out at her bosom area, revealing deep cleavage.

“Young Mage, what kind of slave are you looking for? Fox girls, rabbit girls, or Snake-Women? Young miss here has everything, and can even give you a discount!”

"I want 10,000 human women, age between twenty to thirty years, ordinary people, as fast as possible." Noah made his request. 

The female Mage's face changed a little. "My my, looks like this miss underestimated you... Ah, to be young."

"Cut the crap, do you have them or not?" Noah answered a little icily. He didn't want to waste time needlessly. 

“No problem, we have the largest warehouse. As long as you make a request, we’ll immediately find what you want!” The Mage stated with confidence.

"How long will it take you?" Noah asked. "I'll have what you want tommorow. Would you like us to deliver them somewhere?" The Mage took out a notes and wrote down everything.

"No need, I'll collect them myself." With a move of his hand, a bundle of low grade mana crystals appeared on the table in front of Noah. The Mage showed a brilliant smile as he left.

He went to an expensive hotel for Ranked Mages and entered his room. "Oh, Noah my friend, you're back already?" 

In the room, a demon soul flew around a wooden box. Occasionally, low sounds would emit from the inside of the box.

"Yes. We'll spend the night here. We're leaving tomorrow after we collect the slaves." Noah replied as he sat on the bed in a cross legged position. "When are you going to get me some?" Niolo asked.

"When I get you a body you'll get them yourself." Noah answered nonchalantly before emptying his mind. "Bummer. When is that even going to be?" With a sigh, Niolo could only continue to wait until that day.

.......

Next morning, Noah left the city with many carriages filled to the brim with female slaves. The slaves didn't attempt to escape as they were marked with a slave seal, and were also thoroughly trained. Their empty eyes stared at nothing as they awaited their fate.

After traveling for a few hours, Noah suddenly ordered all of them to exit the carriages and follow him into the deep forest. Thanks to sensing Noah's overwhelming strength, no monsters attacked the women.

After half an hour more, all of them arrived in front of a big dirt hole the size of hundred meters and a depth of ten meters. Next to the hole, Niolo closely guarded the wooden box containing Callum.

Noah opened the box and looked at Callum inside. Sensing the warmth of the sun on his skin, Callum began moving inside the box to no avail. 

The box was barely big enough to contain his body without his limbs, and did not allow him space to freely move around. Noah took out a knife and began carving runes on Callum's back.

"Mmff!" Sensing the cold blade cutting his skin slowly, Callum let out muffled groans of pain. His saliva dripped through the red ball in his mouth and onto the bottom of the box, mixing with the red blood.

Noah didn't mind Callum's movements, calmly continuing to carve runes onto the boy's back. After fifteen excruciating minutes of constant pain, Callum felt something break in him, and a smell of urine wafted out of the box.

Realizing what he had done, tears began falling from Callum's eye sockets, and small muffled sobs were released from his gagged mouth.

Now that he was finished, Noah took out the Coagulating Blood Branch out of his spatial ring. The dry branch suddenly sensed Callum's blood nearby and immediately began springing back to life.

The previous dry branch was now thick and full of vitality, and it's smaller branches began wiggling around like tentacles, searching for blood. 

Noah turned the branch around and stuck its lower end into the center of the runes on Callum's back, like a dagger. "Mff!" Callum twitched in pain, and the Coagulating Blood Branch tasted his blood.

It's eyes constricted in happiness, and it began stabbing it's smaller branches into Callum's back to absorb his blood. However, the runes on Callum's back acted as a type of barrier, forcing the branch to stay in place.

Noah began murmuring in an ancient language, and the runes began shining with a scarlet red light. The Coagulating Blood Branch didn't like being constricted and tried to escape, but was prevented by the runes.

Seemingly under Noah's control, the tentacles of the Coagulating Blood Branch stabbed into Callum's spine, provoking more pained groans from the latter. 

As Noah continued chanting, the tentacles began mixing themselves with Callum's spine, slowly and painfully fusing with them. 

Callum tried to escape from the horrible pain, but he found out that he was unable to feel anything below his neck. His head moved around, bumping into the walls of the box. 

The tentacles continued overtaking his spine, spreading to his lover body and climbing up to his brain. "Mfuh, muff, mff!!!" 

Callum's body suddenly arched backwards, and the Coagulating Blood Branch dug into his back, its eyes rapidly moving in all directions, seemingly in panic. 

*Bam!* After Noah finished chanting, he lightly kicked the box into the dirt hole. As he was falling, Callum could feel losing his control over his head. 

In place of his limbs there were now many tentacles growing out, twisting and forming into the shape of arms and legs. His teeth suddenly grew and extended, and his face now loosely resembled that of a rat.

All of these changes were followed by more pain, and Callum could only continue to suffer as rivers of tears dripped down his extended cheeks and mouth.

The transformation was finally completed, and a new being slowly rose on all fours as it howled with a painful and mortifying scream. 

It's scream went unheard beyond the hole, as there were many sound isolating spells in place.

"Mm." Noah nodded in approval before turning his head and grabbing a nearby female slave. The slave was shocked seeing this new monster, and she couldn't even recover as Noah suddenly threw her into the hole.

"Nooo!" The girl fell down and she felt her arms emit creaking sounds. Although the dirt somewhat softened the fall, she still hurt all over. 

Smelling her, the being previously known as Callum roared again and threw himself at her. The slave was frightened as her iris shrunk into pin-size as she felt an intense sensation of death.

'Callum' had already lowered its head, enjoying this sumptuous meal. It used it's hand to grab the slave's breast, tearing away the skin and flesh, exposing her deathly pale ribs.

With a scream, the slave died due to shock. The creature then broke the slave's bones, tearing out her internal organs. Finally, it found what it was looking for.

It nipped at the girl’s heart that was still beating, then proceeded to swallow it in one mouthful. The heart passed through its throat and into the stomach, and the creature let out a howl of both pain and delight.

Noah kept throwing and kicking in female slaves one after another; no matter how they begged or tried to escape, they all had one end. The Sun fell and rose again, and the last slave's heart was eaten.

This time, instead of howling, the creature began shaking and shuddering intensely. It cried out painfully and began rolling on the ground, before arching backwards for the final time.

A moment later, from its eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth as well as its butt, small sparks of flames were seen. Then, the fire got bigger and quickly enveloped its entire body, turning it into a giant fire pillar.

But this fire was not the usual orange, but instead an eerie blood colour. After the entire body burned up, a single heart remained in the center of the ashes.

This heart didn't look like a regular one would; there were many small mouths filled with razor sharp teeth on it, forming a symbol 'x' on both sides of the heart. 

Noah smiled as he jumped into the hole and picked up the heart. "It's complete. A consumable type Middle Grade artifact, Woman's Heart!" 

After picking up the Woman's Heart artifact, he was just about to jump out when a five colored glow suddenly caught Noah's eye. 

Turning around, Noah could see a fist sized lotus flower floating in the air, surrounded by something like a water curtain, isolating this five coloured lotus from the outside.

Next to the flying five colored lotus was an another lotus, but this one was golden, and shined in a golden light. Seeing these two strange flowers, Noah's brows raised in surprise. "What are those?"


	132. Chapter 132

The first thing that came to Noah's mind were many different species of parasitic plants. While there were some parasitic lotus flowers, they most certainly weren't five colored or golden.

The second thing that came to his mind was that these two flowers were something connected to Callum in some way. It was a theory that made the most sense.

But Noah had never seen such weird looking plants, nor had he ever heard of them. "But since this was connected to Callum, it probably didn't damage him. So it should be safe..." 

Noah turned to face Niolo and inquire, but Niolo shook his head. He also had no clue what these two flowers were. "Hmm..." Noah observed the two flowers with a frown on his face.

He didn't know if he should take them. He tore off an arm of a nearby corpse and threw it at the flowers. The arm just fazed through the flowers and fell on the dirt. 

"It doesn't seem to eat flesh." Noah then decided to take the two flowers. Since his golden soul made him immune to soul attacks, he was confident in destroying the two flowers in case they attacked his soul.

He did not hesitate anymore and directly reached out to the two lotus flowers, only just touching them with his fingers before they disappeared.

At the same time, Noah suddenly felt his whole existence being refreshed. His mind became many times clearer than ever before, even his perception was enhanced.

Involuntarily, Noah took a deep breath, as his body completely immersed itself in a warm comfort and shivered.

"What was that?" Noah gasped at the pleasant and warm feeling that spread from the inside of his body. He tried searching himself all over with his mana sense, but he didn't find any trace of the flowers.

In the end, he decided to give up. He now had something else to do. Get the main ingredient for the Tears of Mary potion, human souls.

......

In this world, there were two types of Mages. One type of Mage advocated violence, believed in natural selection, and looked up to the enduring dark Mages, while the other type was fond of peace, and revered the research of the light Mages.

Within these two factions, there lay many different groups and academies. While there was a lack of cohesion and an abundance of friction between these groups and academies, they would always stand together as one whenever it was against an enemy.

The extent of the rule of the light Mages lay in the major human, dwarf and elf kingdoms, while the dark Mages occupied the far away Forbidden Lands. 

Noah had to admit that the light Mages' territory was generally more prosperous than that of the dark Mages. The commoners in the light Mage territory also enjoyed more peace and stability.

In regards to government administration, the light Mages had to do much more than the dark Mages in order to keep a firm hold on the vast and rich territory.

According to his memory, Noah would reach the market place of the light Mage domain, Teljose City, by today.

Following the horses, Noah forged on ahead. He observed that the pathways became wider and wider, and the people used a larger variety of transportation devices to aid in their travels.

For example, he observed a female Mage on a winged steed, and an old geezer on a hot air balloon. Hanging from the hot air balloon, there was a banner, which read. “Welcome to Hookety’s miscellaneous goods shop, we have a supply of…”

Green waves, almost like the waves of an ocean, were rippling in the breeze, giving off a thick atmosphere.

Here was the Teljose Great Plains which covered an area of several thousands of square kilometers and had several cities with population larger than 100,000.

And the Teljose City was located in the middle of this huge plains, and was the central zone of this huge region.

Noah stopped observing these matters, as the City of Teljose was appearing in front of his eyes. In Noah’s line of sight, there first appeared a black dot.

Afterwards, that black dot increased in size as if it turned into a dark cloud, enveloping the whole sky. It was a tall and erect mountain, reaching through the clouds and standing quietly on the plains.

In addition, on that large mountain there were numerous tightly packed buildings and black dots moving around on the many layers on that mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, a large tall city wall was erected in a circular fashion. 

A visual estimate gave its height at a couple of dozen meters and that it was entirely made out of grey granite. 

It looked extremely impressive. At the giant peak of the mountain, there were layers of luxuriant snow. 

"Teljose City, also known as Nightless City. It does look nice." Noah commented. He never visited this city in his previous life as he had no such freedom as he had now.

The reason why he was here was to find a dark Mage who sells human souls. Even though dark Mages were usually enemies with the light Mages, Teljose City was a rare neutral zone that allowed both kinds of Mages to mingle with each other.

As long as one doesn't break the rules set by the city lord, they would be guaranteed safety inside. If the dark Mages were totally removed, then Teljose City’s total trades would immediately fall by more than half.

No trade center would reject a dark Mage member from joining them. Dark Mages from all over the continent disguised themselves in order to enter Nightless City each day. 

Their aim was to trade items, amongst other activities. The guards of the city turned a blind eye to their actions.

Noah, with an appearance of a middle aged man with a thick moustache and scars on his face, now arrived at the gate. He was now pretending to be a Paragon Rank Mage again.

At the moment, there were rows of people queueing up in front of the gates of the city.

The numerous heads seemed like ants as they were separated into different groups and entered various entrances.

The whole process for entering the city was quite simple. Noah had to pay 200 middle grade mana crystals and was advised to not start fights. As a proof of payment, he was given a white ring.

The moment he entered, Noah’s first impression was that it was really crowded. Numerous heads were gathered close to each other, forming a sea of blackness. 

There were also various stores, as well as stands that were messily displayed. The constant haggling and bawling noises attacked the ears.

Many Mages and their students or relatives who were dressed in different coloured clothing were arguing aggressively with the vendors. Humans weren't the only race present here.

There were the graceful, beautiful elves, the short but burly dwarves, small gnomes that rode in their machines, and even a few Monster Race members. Seeing all these races together proved that Nightless City was indeed a neutral zone.

Many of them were communicating with each other, their speech slipping back to parts of their own languages.

“My Lord, is it your first time in Nightless City?” A man who was so skinny that he was like a stick approached Noah as he bowed, wearing a flattering expression on his face.

“Do you need a tour guide? My fee is definitely the lowest. Moreover, my home is within Nightless City, so I am familiar with every nook and cranny in this place!”

“Are you the ‘ears’ of this city?” Noah inquired to clarify. “Of course. If there is anything that you want to know, I could also make some inquiries…”

“What is your name?” Noah asked. “Sean! My Lord, you can call me Sean.” The thin man was delighted as this situation meant it was possible to seal the deal.

“Good. I wish to stay here for an extended period of time. Take me to a place where I can rent some lodgings. It must have all the facilities.”

“If you wish to stay here for long, renting an apartment which is in the heart of Nightless City would be the most worthwhile!” Sean said quickly without needing to think.

As if fearing that Noah did not understand, Sean quickly went on. “The heart of the city is controlled by several large factions that back Nightless City. There are different types of apartments for sale, and they are generally quite safe and convenient…”

“Very well, let’s go there.” Noah nodded his head, and Sean hurriedly led the way with a gleeful expression. After going through the throng of people and walking for about half an hour, Sean brought Noah to a small door.

“Nightless City has five zones, and the outermost zone is meant for ordinary people to live in. Its organisation is the most chaotic, and as long as one is in possession of a token, he or she can enter and leave the city at will.”

“The second zone is reserved for those who have done the paperwork to stay here permanently. Of course, Lord Mages are allowed to stay here too!” Sean brought Noah to the queue in front of the door and explained further.

“As for the third and fourth zone, they are the residences of the Lord Mages. There is also a trade area specifically catered to the Lord Mages erected within the zone.”

“Lastly, we have the fifth zone, where various powers have established their branches there. Usually, they are not open to the public and if you are not a member, you are not allowed to enter!” Sean gave Noah a clear explanation.

The queue progressed quickly, and within a few minutes, it was Noah’s turn. He produced the ring he had recently acquired, and showed it to the guard, who respectfully stepped aside to allow him to pass.

The second zone was a lot bigger than the first, and the shops were arranged in an organised manner, unlike the situation in the first zone.

With Sean’s guidance, Noah arrived at the centre of the second zone. What was known as the communal centre was situated at the middle of the second zone. 

It was a humongous building that, based on its outward appearance, looked like a person’s inverted palm pressed to the ground. Each of those fingers was a wide entrance.

Magicians formed long lines, looking like ants as they constantly went through the entrances.

“This is where the Nightless City’s internal affairs are conducted. These includes the renting of lodgings, the applications for store licenses, the issuing of missions, and so on.” Sean brought Noah into the passageway on the forefinger.

“This is the second passage that is specially catered for Mages who wish to rent lodgings. Of course, we also provide property agents, though the price will be higher and the rentals may not be of the best quality…”

“Sir, would you like to rent a lodging? Come to Old Hork’s place! Our facilities are complete, and there are even snake and fox girls who will serve you!”

“No! Come to our side. Our prices are the most reasonable here, and we’re even willing to gift you ten regular human servants.”

The moment Noah entered, he attracted the attentions of multiple agents, who all looked ready to gobble him down. “He’s my customer! Get out of the way! Move!”

Sean guided Noah to a passageway nearby, pushing away the overzealous hands reaching for him. Within the passage was a spiral staircase. 

When they got to the second level, Noah suddenly realised how quiet his surroundings were.

As they passed through a door frame that read “Hall No. 762.” Noah saw a large domed hall. On the ceiling, there was a huge crystal chandelier from which multicoloured rays of light bounced off, casting a phantom image on the ground.

To the side of the domed hall, there were many counters, and a few seats meant for people to wait in.

“If you wish to rent an apartment, you can proceed to counters 1 to 15. Would you like me to queue on your behalf?”

“Fine." Noah nodded. Even though he had quite a sum at hand, he was unwilling to splurge on an apartment so quickly, when he had not yet made sense of the situation in Nightless City.

There were many counters in the hall. After Sean left to join a queue, Noah found himself a seat and began to flip through one of the books left on a table.

“Sir, it’s your turn now!” Sean’s voice travelled over. Noah put down the book, heading to the 13th counter where Sean was standing.

“Welcome! How may I help you?” Behind the counter was an adorable girl with a professional smile on her face, who was wearing something that was similar to lace. 

She seemed quite young, and Noah guessed that she was, at most, eighteen or nineteen years old. His gaze shifted to the back of the counter, where he caught a glimpse of the white ball behind the maiden’s shapely backside.

“I wish to rent a house. The facilities must be complete, and it is best if it includes a laboratory, and the defensive spell formation has to be of at least this standard…” Noah stated his requirements.

“Please wait for a moment…” The rabbit maiden quickly flipped through the stack of parchments in front of her, closing her eyes from time to time while caressing a crystal ball with a metal base, as if she was communicating with someone.

“We have many houses that fit your requirements, but in order to rent a lodging in Nightless City, we require you to show evidence of… Ah! My lord! My sincerest apologies!”

Upon seeing the ring that Noah revealed, the rabbit maiden’s previously absent-minded expression completely changed.

She stood and bowed, showing her charming body and sturdy thighs, and the rabbit’s tail behind her backside occasionally appearing. 

It gave one the urge to reach forward and grab hold of it. “Please excuse this servant's rude behaviour!”

“It’s fine. Tell me about the houses.” Noah withdrew his right hand.

“For a Sir of such high esteem, we strongly recommend apartments that are in the third zone or above. There is a total of thirteen empty houses that meet your requirements…” As she spoke, she took out thirteen papers and placed them in front of Noah.

After musing for a while, Noah decided on a house with 1000 low grade mana crystals as rent. "I'll take this one." With a wave of his hand, the crystals appeared on the back of the counter.

"Here are the crystals. I'll be renting it for two months." The rabbit maiden asked for the ring on Noah’s finger, and placed it in a device behind her, within which an exotic symbol was inscribed. She then respectfully returned it to him.

“The pattern of the villa’s defensive spell formation has already been marked onto your ring. You may enter the villa using the ring, and also make changes to the spell formation…”

Following which, the rabbit maiden passed Noah a bunch of keys and a document.

“Here are the keys to the rooms in the villa, as well as some important information. I hope you have a pleasant stay there!” Noah retrieved the items and walked out of the hall with Sean.

“Bring me to the villa and these will be yours.” Noah smiled, tossing a few magic crystals that were glistening temptingly.

“Of course! Your wish is my command!” Sean’s eyes brightened, and he quickly ran to the front. “Please follow me! There’s not one place in Nightless City that I, Sean, am not aware of!”


	133. Chapter 133

Crystal clear spring water continuously flowed from a white canteen.

Under the white canteen was a half-nude marble statue. The statue was depicting a poised, long-haired maiden. In her eyes, there was an expression of indolence and perplexity. 

One hand was tugging on the skirt on her lower body, and the other hand was holding a white canteen upside down.

The spring water gathered below, forming a small pond. Different colored pebbles and fishes in the pool were reflecting the light.

Next to the pond were was a small garden. Inside the garden were different coloured flowers of unknown names. 

Different fragrances were mixed together, but it didn’t feel jumbled; instead it provided a unique scent that made one feel refreshed.

Noah leisurely walked around the garden before returning to the villa.

This was the new villa that he had recently rented for two months. The address was: Nightless City Zone 3, Large Whale Street #56.

There were very strict regulations for each of the three zones. The zones above the third one were only for Ranked Mages and trade, with the exception of some specialised servants that were permitted to pass through.

This villa had a huge area, and its magic defenses against spells were also strong. According to what he saw, a Paragon Rank Mage would have no chances of entering. If they wanted to destroy this place, it would require a huge amount of effort from them.

In the area around Noah’s villa, there was another Mage. Previously, there was even a red haired old man who waved to him. He seemed quite friendly.

*Click!* They sound of a copper key entering the lock could be heard, followed by the sound of a door opening with a squeak.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Noah leisurely strolled around his villa. This villa had 3 floors, two of them being above ground, and also a basement.

The apparatuses in the lab were very complete, and the furniture and other things were up to date, making Noah feel that he had truly received his crystal’s worth.

The bedroom was on the second floor and even had an open balcony. Noah stood on the balcony and observed the distant scenery.

The sun was setting; the dark curtain of night gradually enveloping the surroundings. *Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!* By the side of the road, one lantern after another was being lit, extending far into the distance.

The little spots of light had an effect as they lit together, finally forming a huge body of light. “No wonder that Teljose City was referred to as the Nightless City.” Noah exclaimed.

*Ding!* Something like an incandescent light bulb lit up inside Noah’s room. Noah spent his time observing the defensive formation protecting the villa.

He didn't trust the defensive formations put up by anyone other than himself. Only after verifying many times that there really were no spells used for spying on him did he relax and go to sleep.

It was a very light sleep. When he finally woke up, it was very early in the morning, and the number of people in the streets was smaller.

Noah decided to take a walk. Along the path between the villas, he followed the map he had obtained the day before, and walked towards the fourth level of the Nightless City.

“Good day sir!” The red-headed old geezer, whom he met yesterday, was pruning his lawn. Upon seeing Noah approach, he smiled and greeted him.

"Hello." Noah waved back and plastered a friendly smile on his face. “My name is Crew. It has been a long time since any new neighbours have moved in!”

The old geezer smiled and placed his shears on the ground. From the looks of it, he was very excited to see Noah. “I am Noah, and I have just arrived at Nightless City. It is a tranquil city and I love it here.”

Noah bowed slightly as a sign of respect. From the old geezer’s body, Leylin felt a sense of peace. The old geezer also had a heavy scent of books and scrolls, and had the temperament of a scholar.

“Haha...you made a good choice!” Upon hearing his words, the old geezer’s wrinkly face creased with laughter. 

“Where are you headed?” The old geezer sat down on a stool in the gardens. ”Would you like to drink some red tea with an old man?”

“No thanks, I would like to have a stroll in the city and take a look at the trading district. Later, perhaps." Noah rejected the old geezer’s suggestion with a smile on his face and left the area.

The third zone of the Nightless City was very different from the first two zones, especially the Mage quarters. All of the villas were widely spaced, and they were adorned with eye-catching symbols.

There were significantly less people in the third zone. Occasionally, Ranked Mages and their attendants could be spotted.

Noah reached the fourth zone of the city after passing through a heavily guarded gate. Many different types of stores dotted the vicinity. Occasionally, Mages could be spotted entering and exiting the stores.

The Mages that passed through the area had energy levels of official Magi and above. Not a single ordinary person was seen. “From the looks of it, this is the trading district set up for Ranked Mages.”

Looking around at the various store signs as he walked along, Noah made his way towards the center. “Old Gelling’s medicine store!” 

“Cape of good hope refined gold goods!” “Clothes manufacturing shop” “Refined gemstones store” “Mythical creature trading store…”

There was a large variety of shops here, enough to make one get lost. Noah made a beeline straight towards the fourth zone’s central plaza.

Smack dab in the middle of the district packed full of stores was a large open plaza. Eighteen pillars that were as thick as the human skull were erected around it.

Occasionally, there were Mages on the plaza using their hands to feel the pillars with their eyes shut. It was as if they were interacting with something.

Some of the Mages that looked directionless and lost gained a sense of purpose in their movements after interacting with the pillars. They hurried along their way out of the market or towards a certain shop.

Noah queued behind a red-robed, middle-aged man. There were only a scant few Mages on the plaza, so his turn came quickly. After taking in a deep breath, Noah stood in front of the pillar, his palms pressing upon it.

*Buzz Buzz!* The moment his palm felt the rough stone on the pillar, Noah experienced an extremely ice-cold force creep from the pillar and bore into his forehead.

Following which, a large amount of scripts and diagrams were circulated into Noah's mind like a message. 

The information converged into what seemed like a hefty book. His mana sense gingerly touched the book and flipped to the first page.

“Material types” “Finished goods types” “Knowledge types” “Potion types..." What entered his vision first was a densely packed index catalogue. Noah hesitated for a while, before opening the “Knowledge types” segment.

A silver light flashed. Following which, a lot of sub-clauses appeared before Noah’s eyes. Many different branches of high-level academic knowledge appeared before Noah.

Noah spent some time reading through all these things quickly to remember them and study them for later. He then turned to the "Material types" section.

“Search—human souls.” Following which, the majority of the data disappeared, and only a few lines of information from the hefty book remained.

“Looking to buy an egg of a Fire Ingesting Bird at a favourable price, can choose from the following for trade: I have 200 human souls, Firestone 800 grams, and various types of liquids…”

“Store sells the following: human souls, dragon grass, ghastly sunflower…” On the hefty book, only these two statements appeared. It looked pathetic.

“There is only such a minute amount, and one of them only accepts the egg of a Fire Ingesting Bird for trade." Noah frowned. “Whatever. This is better than nothing.”

While Noah was using his spiritual force to reply to the message selling the crystals, a small messaged appeared: Elm Street #231.

This was the address of the shop from earlier. Noah threw a middle-grade mana crystal into the stone pillar’s interface. A considerable fee was needed when information was obtained from the trading plaza. 

After leaving the trade plaza, Noah found the small shop written on the message in no time. The tiny shop was rather inconveniently located in a small alley. 

If not for the definite address, it would've taken more time to find. The shop was dimly lit and its floor was dusty.

The racks in the store were filled with transparent glass jars. Different types of organs and tissues were submerged in a faint yellow liquid within these glass jars. 

Noah even saw a few that resembled a human embryo. “What do you want?” From the sales counter, a female witch wearing a tall pointed hat walked out. 

Her face was filled with fine wrinkles and her nose was hooked like an eagle’s talons. “I was looking at the trading board. Are you selling human souls?”

“You reek of blood, young man.” The old witch cried out in exaggeration. “You are a dark Mage, am I right?”

“Is there anything wrong? I don’t know of any rule in Nightless City that states that you can’t sell to dark Mages.” Noah’s brows furrowed.

“Hehehe… Don’t worry, I’m a dark Mage too, though that’s a matter from over 200 years ago. Ah, just remembering those times makes me feel nostalgic...” The old witch chuckled, which sounded like an owl hooting.

"Do you have them then?" Noah asked again. "Of course. All of them are in good condition and brimming with energy, hehehe."

"What do you want for them?" Hearing him, the old witch cackled. "100 middle grade mana crystals for one of them, 1000 souls in total."

The old witch positioned a dozen crystal soul spheres in the size of a thumb in a row, and placed it on the counter.

Within the spheres were tens of expressionless souls that seemed on the verge of dissipating. At the moment, many of them had lost their human form, which must have happened after brutal, inhuman torture.

"What? That's too expensive. Do you take me for a fool?" Noah's brows furrowed again. A 100 middle grade crystals would equal 1 high grade mana crystal. That was way too expensive. 

Although Noah had so many crystals to the point that he could contend with the top noble families on the continent, he wasn't a stupid idiot with more money than brain. He was naturally unwiling to pay so much.

"Hehe, not my problem. That's my price, now it's your turn to offer me something of similar value. But, I only accept something related to souls." The witch replied.

"Something connected to souls, huh?" Noah began musing to himself. He naturally had some research about souls, but he wasn't sure that it would interest the old witch. After all, he wasn't a Darkness Element Mage, so he was not proficient in souls.

As he was thinking, a flash of inspiration suddenly hit Noah. A sly smile crawled into his lips as he touched his chin. The old witch found this a little weird but didn't comment.

"How about this?" Noah tossed a scroll to her after thinking. The old witch caught the scroll, and her eyes squinted. 

“En! It seems to be an introduction to a type of middle grade potion. The ingredients required are really rare; you actually need human souls...”

“Guk Kuk…” Suddenly, as if something got stuck in the old witch’s throat, she let off a gag, her face filled with disbelief.

“This is… A mana quality increase formula of the ancient Terrestrial Elves! The primary steps have actually been filled in…” She looked at Noah in alarm. 

“Give me the rest of this information, and the deal will be sealed! I can even give you other types of compensation, and my treasures will be for your taking!”

Towards the old witch’s suggestion, Noah scoffed. “Are you kidding? A copy of a mana quality increase potion of the ancient elves is only worth this much?”

“Then what do you want?” The old witch’s face darkened, and a Paragon Rank pressure was released from her body.

*Whoosh!* As if a strong wind had passed through, the items in the shop began to shake. “You wish to attack? Don’t forget that we’re in the Nightless City right now.”

Noah reminded her as he smiled gently. After which, his Paragon Rank pressure also released, creating cracking noises in the air between the two.

"And these as well." Noah took out his old iron token and the Primer Family badge and threw them on the table. "The Primer Family?!" The old witch was evidently afraid now.

Not only did Noah display power rivalling her own, he even revealed that he had the backing of the Primer Family. Hence, the old witch now had no choice but to take him seriously.

*Crash!* A heap of high grade mana crystals and some magical ingredients were emptied on the table. “All of my magic crystals are here. Every item in this shop, as long as you want them, can be yours. If only you could give me that potion’s formula.”

An earnest and pleading expression appeared on the old witch’s face. It seemed that she needed this potion’s formula very badly.

This turn of events left Noah somewhat surprised. From what he thought, this old witch would definitely be enthralled by it, but not to such a crazy degree. However, this situation was naturally more favourable towards him now.

He quickly scooped up all the mana crystals and magical ingredients into his spatial ring. “How precious is the formula of a potion that can increase the mana quality of Officer Rank Mages? It isn’t even easy for me to get this kind of item.”

Noah said nonchalantly, and despair was drawn on the old witch’s face. “Although the formula cannot be given, we can still cooperate.” 

Right when the old witch was about to burst in rage, Noah gently spoke again, causing the old witch relax the energy particles that she had gathered. “Cooperate? How are we going to do that?”

“You’re an expert in the field of souls, and the raw ingredients for this potion are all souls. You’ll provide the ingredients and do all of the other preparatory work, and I’ll be in charge of brewing the potion. As for the potions that are successful, I’ll get 60% of them, and you’ll get the remaining 40%.” Noah suggested.

It was obvious that this proposal seemed to hit the old witch’s soft spot. In terms of power, she couldn’t take down Noah easily, and the power backing him was also one that caused her fear. In addition, this potion was extremely important to her.

“The ratio is too little. I’ll be obtaining the soul and doing all the prep work, which is much more dangerous. If I ever get caught by the light Mages, I’ll definitely be chased to the ends of the world!”

The old witch emphasised the fact that she’d be in the most danger. “That’s the best you’ll get. It won’t get any higher than this.” 

Noah wore a deadpan expression. “After all, the formula is in my hands. As long as you agree, we can immediately sign a contract.”

“…Very well!” The old witch was silent for a long while, before forcing the words out of her mouth. After picking another time to meet, Noah left the area with a smile about his lips.

The formula that he showed the old witch was naturally the Tears of Mary potion. As Noah wasn't a Darkness Element Mage, he had no way of gathering all the souls that he wanted.

On the other hand, the old witch was a Darkness Element Mage, and she also had deep knowledge about human souls and the like, otherwise she wouldn't be able to dabble with them.

This made her a perfect candidate for doing the hard work. Noah only had to brew the potions and enjoy his 60% percent. The old witch was even forced to swear not to leak any information about Noah or the potion formula.

This was, of course, at his request. This way, even if someone found out the old witch’s secret, they would not be able to trace it back to Noah.

Hence, he did not hesitate to give her 40% of the potions that would be brewed.

As for the formula of the potion, Noah had given the old witch a little of the contents of the first half. As for the most crucial steps, it was solely controlled by him.

As long as he held on to those key steps, Noah didn’t need to worry about the old witch possibly rebelling against him.

As for the witch who needed the potion, she had no choice but to toil for Noah, taking on the extreme risk of harvesting souls, and also completing the bloody preparation of the early stages of the brewing process.

This was a perfect situation! 

“But that old witch’s reaction was a little strange. She agreed so easily in order to obtain the potion. I was prepared to give her more materials, but she actually agreed to my conditions so quickly, almost as if the potion wasn’t for herself, but for someone else…”

The wheels in Noah's head were constantly turning as he ambled along. “No, this is better for me. If I have misgivings about this arrangement, then I will have something that I can use as blackmail material…”

Under the rising sun’s light, Noah's shadow was drawn out onto the streets, looking somewhat malevolent, as if it were a devil...


	134. Chapter 134

In the shop from before.

The old witch stood there silently until she confirmed Noah’s departure. After that, she walked to the counter and pressed on a hidden area.

*Boom!* A mechanical sound was heard, and the wall at the back of the shop was pushed backwards, revealing a flight of steps that headed downwards.

The old witch held onto her cloak as she slowly walked down. The staircase was extremely short, ending after just a couple of steps.

This was a basement, and it was positioned right below the old witch’s shop. Moreover, there were many runes inscribed onto the walls of the basement room. There were a few human bones scattered in the corners of the room as well.

There were many traces of scars on these bones, which could only let one imagine the torture and suffering that the owners went through while they were alive.

A frosty aura continuously encircled the room. *Sssii!* The old witch lit a candle in the centre of the room. This candle was a transparent white, yet the flame was a dark green. The old witch’s horrendous countenance looked even more malicious under the flame.

“Mother…” *Whoosh!* A black tornado swept across the basement, and after a flash of black gas, there was suddenly a translucent figure in the basement.

This figure belonged to a young girl wearing a simple dress. Her shadow was extremely faint as if she was on the verge of dissipating.

“My daughter!” A kindly, yet heartbroken expression appeared on the old witch’s face. “What happened just now? Why did I feel a strong and vicious energy burst out upstairs?” The girl’s expression was one of suspicion.

“No! It’s nothing, just a slight dispute while I was doing business…” The old witch looked tense. “Did it hurt you?”

“I’m alright, it’s only that…” The girl crouched on the floor and hugged her knees. “Don’t bother with me anymore; it has already costed you large amounts of resources to protect my existence. If not for me, wouldn’t you have long since advanced?”

“My dear daughter!” The old witch’s eyes reddened, and she wanted to hug her daughter, yet her two hands could only weave through the girl’s ghostly figure.

Following which, the girl’s arms turned even more illusory, as if they were going to scatter any moment. “Oh no! Why is this even faster than before?”

Fright appeared on the old witch’s face, and she frantically withdrew various items from her robes and placed them on the floor, forming a tiny spell formation.

In the center of the formation, there was a spirit trapped within a crystal ball. “Almighty Defiling Mother, I hereby sacrifice the fear of this soul in return for your blessings…”

The old witch continued to chant in an extremely awkward sounding incantation, all while pointing at the spirit.

“Arrhhgg!” The sound of anguish and terror travelled outwards from within the crystal ball, threads of silvery-white gas constantly being drawn out from the soul's body.

The silvery-white gas quickly supplemented the girl’s body, and her almost dissipated body gradually became more stable. “It’s starting again! I don’t want to do this… It’s too… too cruel…” The girl quietly sobbed.

“I found a potion today, and the formula is said to have been used by ancient elves to raise the quality of mana. It’ll definitely be effective for you! Stay strong! Stay strong for a little while longer, and mother will definitely help you regain your physical body.” The old witch continuously consoled her.

......

Noah wasn't aware of the situation with the old witch. After getting the human souls, he immediately returned to his villa. After activating the entire defense formation, he went to the room at the ground floor of the villa by himself.

At the lowest level was an area for experimenting with spells, which had absorption runes for reinforcement at the four corners.

The room next to it was used for Alchemy. Noah hid this room with many different kinds of spells to prevent spying. Tears of Mary was just that valuable of a potion.

“Let’s begin.” Noah took a deep breath and picked up a confining soul sphere which had a soul sealed within in.

In the blink of an eye, it was the dawn of the second day.

Noah's vigour was brimming with energy as he smiled and fixed his eyes on the transparent liquid he held in his hand. In front of him were nine more bottles identical to the one in his hand.

He took the transparent dose of potion and went into the spell testing area below the experiment lab and sat in a cross-legged position.

He corked open the bottle and sniffed the liquid. A rather bland and sweet smell which seemed to be able to induce sleep and hypnosis began to envelop the room.

Noah gulped the entire potion in one go. Immediately, he could feel his thoughts becoming serene and harmonious, as if he just achieved some kind of inner peace.

At this moment, he realised two warm streaks of moisture flowed down his face. "These are... tears." Noah wiped the tears off his face. No wonder it was called Tears of Mary.

Only at this moment did he check on the mana in his soul orb. Right now, the mana inside his soul orb was still mostly blue, but a small part of it had actually turned turquoise in color.

Although it was only equivalent to 1% of the total mana in his soul orb, Noah was nonetheless happy. 

What he was planning to get was a 100% change in quality. If that happened, Noah was confident of being able to match General Rank Mages in power. How amazing would that be? 

He was excited just thinking about it. He quickly gulped down his share of the potion, and waited until tommorow to give the old witch her share. 

The old witch's eyes shined the moment she saw the potions and the two of them discussed the next time they should meet. 

Noah left the small shop and walked around the Nightless City in good mood. Since he had a lot of free time, he decided to spend it learning more new information he didn't know in his past life.

......

Time flew by quickly, and five months passed. Noah extended his rent for another month and simply enjoyed the benefits which just continued coming.

At the same time, he called Luciana and Robert Donell Jr. and asked them to collect materials for the Thawing Spirit Potion that Queen Medusa needed.

Naturally, it wasn't just for her. Thawing Spirit Potion has an additional effect of increasing mana quality, something Noah greatly desired. He wanted to get as many ingredients as possible.

"Why do you want ingredients for a High Grade potion? You're a Middle Grade Alchemist." Robert's voice drifted out of the small magic device. "Oh, you didn't know?" 

"I won the championship in the Alchemist competition this time, and I'm also a Guest Elder of the Primer Family now." Noah nonchalantly responded. "..." For half a minute, no sound was heard from the device.

"You're unbelievable." "Is that so?" Noah shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, I was just about to call you myself, I got that dragon egg you wanted." Noah's eyes seemed to shine. "Excellent. Keep it safe. I'll call you when I return."

"Sure." With that, the conversation ended. Noah then pulled out the small diary and called Luciana. "Yes, master?" A sweet voice drifted from her magic imprint. 

"Luciana, along with your order of finding the ingredients for the Thawing Spirit Potion, I want you to secretly inquire about people who have strange seizures or nausea when using magic. If you find them, report to me immediately."

"Understood." Luciana knew not to ask for details and ended the conversation quickly. Outside, the moon was shining high in the sky. Just as Noah was about to go to sleep, a magic imprint belonging to the old witch flew out of his diary.

"Maverick, come here quickly! I found something amazing!" The old witch's raspy voice sounded out, brimming with excitement. Maverick was Noah's fake name he gave to the witch.

"What is it?" Noah asked, visibly interested in what the old witch was talking about. This level of excitement could only mean something extremely beneficial, or extremely dangerous.

"This is something that needs to be spoken about in person. You need to come quickly." The old witch ended the conversation right there. "Hmm..." Noah was feeling suspicious about the old witch, but decided to go nonetheless.

Wrapped in a black cloak, Noah covered even his face and paid a visit to the old witch’s shop. “What happened to you?” The moment Noah saw the state the old witch was in, he wrinkled his eyebrows.

The first time he’d seen her, the old witch looked like a dead person. The scent of death and decay was even more apparent now, and she looked like she was a corpse which had just crawled out of an old tomb. The undulations from her body were also extremely feeble.

This condition immediately alarmed him. This meant that her might was actually decreasing. The old witch was still Noah's supplier, and he didn’t want his supplier to suddenly disappear.

“Nothing much! Just a recent experiment that’s approaching its crucial stage!” Her body was already as weak as it could get, and just speaking resulted in her panting. However, the light in her eyes was even more radiant, as if on the verge of burning up.

Noah had seen such a fervent heat in a person’s gaze before, in the eyes of lunatics, crazy people, and cultists.

“You’d better not keep anything from me. Remember, we’re allies. Haven’t we been working well together in this past five months?” Noah obviously didn’t believe her vague explanation.

“When it’s time, I’ll definitely tell you everything.” The old witch gave a mysterious grin. Noah didn't miss that sign, and his wariness only increased. 

He was already thinking about how to kill the old witch the moment she makes a wrong movement. "Nevermind that. The reason why I called you here... Is to explore some ruins with me!" 

The old witch coughed. “Exploring ruins? What ruins?” Noah probed curiously. “The remnants of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect!” The old witch exclaimed with fervor.


	135. Chapter 135

“The ancient Spirit Slaying Sect?!” Noah looked lost for a second, and immediately made a sound of astonishment. 

“Do you mean that sect that’s full of lunatics who think that spirits are the ultimate resting state of all living beings and like to massacre and sacrifice human flesh from time to time? Do you mean that infamous sect?”

“Exactly! The ancient Spirit Slaying Sect was just a small sect in the south of the continent during ancient times. I didn’t expect you to know of them!” The old witch gasped at Noah.

“The ruins of this kind of crazy sect is definitely going to be annoying. There might be some troublesome mechanisms in there…” Although Noah was interested, his wariness only increased another level.

If the old witch wanted him to go there, then there was around 90% chance that she wanted him to die. He knew fairly well that ancient sects in the Dark Era had to have at least a General Rank Mage as their protector lest they be destroyed by someone else.

The mechanisms left behind by Mages with such levels of strength were definitely not something Noah could ward off, even though thousands of years had passed.

“Don’t worry, we’re just seeing a small part of it! I’ve also invited a few other friends. I just need one item from there, and all other gains will be left for you to divide amongst yourselves!”

The old witch gave her word. [It looks like this item must be of massive importance to her. If that’s the case, it might be possible for me to…]

After hearing her words, Noah’s eyes darted around as he considered. “I need to think this over.” Out of cautiousness, Noah decided to obtain more information first before answering her.

“Alright, but make it quick. I plan to leave in a few days, so contact me using the secret imprint before then!” The old witch gave a quick nod and passed a dozen soul spheres to Noah.

“This is the latest batch of spirits! However, I need 20% more of your potions this time. I’ll exchange some items to make up for this! How about two hundred high grade mana crystals and a Wolf Spirit Flower?”

Noah glanced at the old witch, whose power undulations were waning. If she was the one using all those Tears of Mary potions, she definitely would not be in this state. 

From the looks of it, all the potions she had obtained had been given to someone else. “Sure.” After giving it a thought, Noah agreed.

Over the past few months, the effect of Tears of Mary began lessening. Before, one potion would be enough to increase the quality by 1%, but now his body was becoming used to the effects and was growing immune.

Right now, even if Noah consumed five Tears of Mary potions, it would barely count for 1%. Noah wasn't aggrieved, though. His mana quality was now increased by 16.75%. This was rather spectacular.

.......

Five days later, on a flat ground in the eastern part of the Nightless City. A shining bright moon hung in the sky, reflecting a silvery lustre on the earth.

The silhouettes of the trees dancing in the wind continuously projected malevolent shadows on the ground, just like monsters of various shapes and sizes.

*Whoosh!* Countless black figures converged, forming the shadows of three figures on the ground. Two of the three people had worn a thick layer of black robes and used a veil to cover their faces. It seemed to give off the vibe of something eerie and crafty.

“Old Devil! When is the last one coming?” A cloaked figure spoke to the person that did not put on a veil but had a small demon mask on instead.

“Soon!” The voice of an old woman sounded from under the mask. “By the way, I believe it would be better if we went by ourselves. Are you sure you can trust these two?”

The cloaked person turned to the old witch, evidently dissatisfied. “Don’t worry, she’s a good friend of mine. She’s definitely trustworthy!” The old witch guaranteed. “She’d better be. If not, no matter how tempting your rewards are, I’ll take my leave!”

“Don’t worry, she’s…” She whispered some words to him. “I see!” She told the cloaked person some information, and he immediately became silent.

Minutes later, a crimson flame soared at the site and a silhouette covered in a red cloak directly appeared on the ground. “My apologies, I’m a little late." Noah spoke and glanced through the people around.

Seeing the two other Mages, a disappointed and wary expression surfaced on his face. Luckily, they were at most Paragon Rank Mages, otherwise Noah would've attacked them immediately.

“Maverick, you’re here! Let me introduce you, this is Brass Ring, and this here is Jaye, a good friend of mine!” The old witch first gave a brief introduction.

"Hello there." Brass Ring merely waved his hand a little and quieted down. He also was not happy to see Noah here. Jaye, on the other hand, had no reaction at all, silent as a grave. “Brass Ring, Jaye, hello.” Noah greeted and smiled.

“Alright, since we’re all here, let us set off!” The old witch nodded her head and her figure disappeared in the darkness. 

Following which, after various flashes of light, there was no one left on this patch of ground, and darkness once again enveloped the area.

The old witch led Noah and the others on a hastened journey. As they were all Ranked Mages, their travelling speed was extremely quick, far surpassing the speed of horses. In the span of two days, they had already traversed across the entire Teljose plains.

Following which, Noah and the others walked towards an extremely ordinary looking town. This town was no different from others, and the total headcount would not exceed ten thousand people.

As for the professions in this town, lumberers and farmers comprised the bulk of it. On the paths, there were even rubbish and dung strewn. “It smells quite bad here!” Brass Ring grumbled.

"What do you expect from a small town with nothing special here? They would obviously not go through the trouble of making lives better for the citizens." The old witch replied, to which Brass Ring snorted.

Ranked Mages hated these small towns and villages the most. They were resource poor places where its inhabitants constantly worry about monster attacks.

Such was the case with all towns in the far ends of a kingdom. Ranked Mages also call these far ends the Primitive Land as a way of insulting the people here. 

From the strange attire of the four of them, it was obvious that they could not enter the small town in broad daylight. The old witch first let them hide outside while she went in by herself.

After that, they strutted in without fear to the sight of numerous people who were in a deep sleep along the roads.

“This…” Noah breathed in with his nose. “Low grade sleeping potions. This dosage is enough for them to stay asleep for at least three days and three nights.”

“Hehe… And even if someone were to chop off one of their legs or kill them, they wouldn’t even wake up. That’s enough for us to conduct our exploration…”

“Is three days enough? Isn’t it more convenient to just kill all of them? We can even take this opportunity to obtain a few souls and the like.” Brass Ring casually brought up.

This was the way a typical dark Mage thought. They believed in bloodshed and violence and preferred to slaughter in order to solve most of their problems.

“After the exploration, I’ll let you do anything you want with them, but now, you have to listen to me!” The old witch stared at Brass Ring, a strange undulation emitting from her body.

*Teng Teng!* Brass Ring had to retreat a few steps. “Are you mad? You want to use this in this situation? Are you looking to die?”

“Don’t provoke me, or you’ll absolutely regret it!” Her voice was hoarse. At this moment, the other Mage called Jaye stood behind the old witch and expressed her support for her.

“Alright, alright! Let’s make a compromise and not act this way." Noah began to resolve the dispute. 

“Among the light Mage standard operating procedures during times of calamity, a town whose civilians had all fainted or were all massacred are two different matters altogether."

"The first scenario would only have ordinary people dispatched to investigate, as for the second scenario, there will be Ranked Mages dispatched."

“For the sake of our safety, Brass Ring, it’s better for you to hold it in." Following which, Noah turned around and asked the old witch. “Time is indeed a concern. Old Devil, I’m sure you can tell us some things by now, can’t you?”

The old witch looked at Noah deep in the eyes before reluctantly agreeing. “Alright then!”

“This is a small scale secret plane that I stumbled on during my travels. It should be an experiment lab of sorts. The area will not exceed 800 meters, so we can definitely finish exploring it within three days!”

"A small scale secret plane?" Noah looked a little dissapointed. In the continent, secret planes were listed in three categories.

The first category was the small scale secret plane. They would usually not exceed a 1000 meters and could be used for storage, hidden research or even inheritance grounds for lower rank Mages.

Above that were the resource type secret planes, the area of that type of secret planes is usually larger than 100,000 meters. The area is large and the topology is varied and suitable to grow resources necessary to Mages.

The highest rank of secret planes are those that have spells that can adjust the living environments of both plants and animals, and can be controlled by a single Mage!

These are only under normal circumstances, there are also places like Hanging Gardens which Noah previously found. 

Even though the area was small but it was personally arranged by a Magistrate Rank warlock, Great Warlock Cadeus, thus its value couldn’t be compared to the normal planes of its kind.

“It’s a shame! If it was a resource type of secret plane, we could occupy it in secret then alter it, hehe… then we would be filthy rich!” Brass Ring was stroking his chin as if he was caught in some fantasy.

“Keep dreaming!” The old witch sneered icily, interrupting Brass Ring’s fancy dreams.

“The bigger the area of the secret plane, the higher the cost of construction. As for the resource type secret planes which was larger than 100,000 meters, even for some ancient organisations, there weren’t many that could afford to construct it…”

“All the present resource type secret planes that belong to large organisations are all remnants from the ancient Mages which have been altered slightly, that’s all! If there really was a resource type secret plane being discovered here, the likes of us wouldn’t be able to stomach it."

"Yes, yes, let's go now. No time to waste." Noah hurried them over. Secret planes were very valuable things. If the secret plane was of resource type, Noah would probably take it for himself.

Since it's just a small one, the most he would gain would be some leftovers from the Spirit Slaying Sect, and maybe he could make it into a small temporary base.


	136. Chapter 136

“The entrance to the secret plane is on the west side of this town, inside a two story wooden building!” The old witch seemed quite familiar with the surroundings as she brought the three of them to a two-storey building made out of wood.

Compared to the small town, this place was even more remote. Weeds were growing all around the villa and there were even two mole like animals quickly scurrying by.

“Originally, this place was a lively street, but since 13 years ago the residents in this place kept dying one by one. Sometimes the town residents could hear sound of a woman wailing outside their homes, that’s why the rumors spread about it being a cursed or a haunted house. The surroundings ended up being overgrown!”

The old witch opened up the rusted gates while feeling rather satisfied with herself. 

“I found this place during one of my explorations, after a couple of months of investigation, I’m sure that the unusual situations around here is cause by the deterioration of the defensive spells around the entrance to the secret plane, unwillingly leaking radiation.”

“According to my calculations, after 13 years, the defensive spells should have totally deteriorated. Leaving the entrance to the secret plane exposed.”

“Thusly I pretend to be an ordinary person and bought this building, plus I added a facade on the outside so other Mages couldn’t discover this place.” Noah was listening to the old witch while he was exploring the inside of this building.

The bottom floor wasn’t that big, it only contained 2 to 3 rooms. The hall was filled with a thick layer of dust and broken furniture. In the corner was a spiral staircase filled with holes. It was the only thing connecting these two floors.

Beneath this obvious state of decline, Noah could feel a strong aura of negative energy. This aura was extremely malevolent, and it carried with it a smell that Noah was familiar with.

[Spirits. And they’re spirits that have been driven crazy from being vengeful.] The corner of Noah's mouth curved. [This old witch really found a nice place.]

“Follow me! Be careful not to touch the black mold on the walls, those are trigger points!” The old witch was in front leading the while, bringing the three behind as they climbed the squeaky stairs to the second floor. She seemed extremely familiar with this place.

The area on the second floor was smaller than the large hall on the first, where the corridors only allowed 2 people to walk side by side.

By chance, Noah was walking beside Jaye. Because the other person was entirely wrapped in a cloak and didn’t speak much, Noah couldn’t even distinguish the other person’s gender, even with his mana sense.

[Strange. This cloak must be an artifact that isolates mana sense. That's immensely expensive. Where did this Paragon Rank Mage get it from?] 

Seeing how the old witch and the mysterious Jaye were close, Noah began having some theories of his own. Nevertheless, he decided to observe for now.

“This oil painting is the entrance to the ancient Spirit Slaying Sect’s secret plane!” By the end of the corridor, the old witch was pointing towards an oil painting that was hanging on the wall as she turned around and spoke to Noah and the rest.

Noah's focus involuntarily shifted to the oil painting. This oil painting depicted a richly dressed noble woman, using a delicate fan to cover half her face.

Due to time and age, there was a lot of dust on the walls. Even around the oil painting was a ring of thick dust. The whole oil painting used green as a base color, and it didn’t seem to fit the picture.

Besides, maybe it’s because of the angle and line, but if he stared at it long enough, Noah felt that the fan the noble woman was holding in the oil painting moved slightly.

Suddenly, the young woman inside the oil painting blinked her eyes! “Is this oil painting alive?” Brass Ring cried out involuntarily.

“You’re finally awake?” The old witch advanced as she cackled. “Foreign intruders, speak the password!” The woman inside the oil painting blinked again as information directly entered each Mage that was present.

“Password? Your masters have all perished, and right now we’ve come to take everything inside the secret plane!” 

The old witch was staring at the woman in the oil painting. “If you choose to comply, there might be a place for you inside my storage room!”

“Password incorrect!” The woman inside the painting said. Noah was keenly aware of that the fan which the noble woman held inside her hand closed slightly.

“It’s only a being conjured by spells, yet it dares to disobey me!” The old witch’s eyes squinted in displeasure.

"Dark Flare!" With a short chant, five purple flares emerged from the old witch's hand, flying directly toward the oil painting.

*Bam!* As the purple flares burned the oil painting, the noble woman’s fan closed entirely exposing the face behind it.

Noah saw that under the beautiful half of the noble woman’s face was a nose and mouth composed entirely out of bones.

This appearance was as if the flesh and blood below the noble woman’s eyes had instantly disappeared. *Screeee!* Following that, the shrill sound of a woman flooded the whole corridor.

The purple flares started to crumble, turning into small spark of purple fire. Following which, it directly extinguished in the fluctuation of the air.

[Banshee wail...] Noah didn't do anything to protect himself. Even without his golden soul, the level of this Banshee wail was too weak to harm an Officer Rank Mage.

At the same time as the wail, a couple of blood red tentacles like intestines protruded from the oil painting and they headed for Brass Ring.

“Damnable thing!” Brass Ring cursed as his body protruded countless bone spikes. The red intestines were directly pierced and were severed.

[Bone Spike Arts?] Noah was startled. [He actually practised this kind of technique, is he a masochist?]

Bone Spike Arts was a Paragon Rank body technique, and was quite formidable. But its activation process was quite a hassle. 

It involved many spikes growing from a Mage's own skeleton which then pierce the Mage's own muscle before attacking his opponent. 

This kind of spell was literally hurting oneself before hurting your opponent, which made it rather unpopular. Only zombies could use it without self harm.

“I’ll tear you damnable thing to pieces!”. One could see that Brass Ring was quite enraged since he was forced to use his body technique.

Presently, his whole body was covered with bone spikes. It gave one the impression that he was like a white sea urchin.

“Stop!” The old witch’s body started to emit countless translucent evil spirits, and every one of them circulated around Brass Ring’s body, making his speed drop.

“There is a spell effect on this oil painting, if you tear it apart the whole entrance to the secret plain will also collapse!” The old witch’s expression turned serious. “Let me do it!”

When the previous Banshee wail had struck, the bodies of both the old witch and Jaye emitted a black colored membrane. It seemed like neither of them suffered any injuries.

“Your Banshee wail was pretty good, it is a shame that the matching spell formation has been half collapsed due to the passage of time. What’s left isn’t something than can affect us Ranked Mages."

The old witch looked upon the Banshee within the oil painting with pity, as she stroked the surface of the painting with her hand.

Following which, tiny dark purple dots originated from the old witch’s palm and spread continuously, like someone was adding a coat of paint.

“Come forth, my baby!” The old witch said softly, her voice sounding tender and flirtatious.

As soon as these words were uttered, the Banshee within the painting turned fearful, as if she had encountered her natural enemy.

After the black purple colour extended throughout the entire oil painting, the banshee disappeared without a trace.

“That’s a pretty good entrapment method! Did you buy this just for this purpose?” Noah approached the old witch. “I’m rather interested in this banshee. Can you sell it to me later? I’ll buy it at a high price."

“Once we’re done exploring the secret plane and we find what I want, I can just give it to you!” The old witch flashed Noah a glance.

At the present, in the middle of the oil painting a small dot of silver light suddenly appeared. The silvery light grew bigger and bigger and the surrounding void started to ripple. Finally, it settled into a corridor filled with a silvery sheen.

A strong aura of dark magical power poured out constantly from within the corridor. A faint mist started to rise around the whole wooden building and the sound of people of all ages started to sound all around. 

This kind of scenery, if the old witch didn’t previously put everyone in the town into slumber, would most likely have caused quite a commotion in the town.

“Even though there is no chance of encountering any ancient Mages inside the secret plane, but there are still some lingering curses and traps that are still working. We better be careful… considering that the Spirit Slaying Sect was an organization famous for researching spirits, one must prepare accordingly.” The old witch warned specifically.

“By now you should reveal to us what you’re really looking for right?” Noah locked the old witch with his gaze. “Heuheuheu… relax, you’ll all know when that time comes!” The old witch just cackled manically as usual.

“Speak the truth, Old Devil. If you still won’t we all will feel insecure…” This time, Brass Ring sided with Noah. “If you don’t tell me now, I won’t be able to keep my former promises…”

“You two...” The old witch was quite anxious but suddenly broke into a coughing fit. Her originally crooked body seemed to bend even more as if her waist was about to break.

“Sigh… Alright then!” After a long while the old witch recovered her breath but her complexion was turning paler. 

“It’s an altar-like thing. There is only one of it in the whole laboratory. You won’t be able to miss it!” The old witch spoke with an impatience. “Then what? Only this much information?” Brass Ring immediately asked.

“What else do you think there is?” The old witch’s eyes emitted green light as her gaze bore into the body of Brass Ring. 

“I only found some clues from some ancient information that this altar might be inside this secret plane, how could I know any more specific facts?”

As if he was afraid that the old witch would again lash out at him, Brass Ring chose wisely not to ask any further questions.

“Then what’s the altar’s function?” After Brass Ring went silent, Noah asked instead. “Don’t tell me that you don’t even know how to use the altar and still went to look for it.”

“Of course not!” The old witch tried to calm her expression but still chose to speak at last. 

“That altar is a product made by the Spirit Slaying Sect during their later periods, and is called the Spirit Altar. It has great benefits towards alleviating my current conditions. There is even a chance that it might directly cure it...”

“If you all help me get to it, then I'll be sure to pay you all back heavily!" The old witch guaranteed once more. Noah didn’t believe it — it was apparent that the old witch had some other tricks up her sleeve.

“You and I are old friends, if I won’t help you then who will?” Among the three of them, Jaye was the first to speak. The voice was neither masculine nor feminine and carried a weird pitch.

“Alright! I was just asking!” Brass Ring also started to concede. “What about you, Maverick?” The old witch looked over Noah.

“If you are not planning to exploit us and make us risk our lives for your cause, I don’t have any other objections.” Noah sneered.

“That’s good!” The old witch looked at the corridor which emitted silvery light and said. “Alright, the corridor should be completely stabilised by now, let us proceed!”

Following which, the old witch’s eyes radiated a fervent hunger as she stepped into the corridor. Noah and the rest looked at each other and followed.

The dazzling silvery light suddenly expanded and swallowed the four people completely. “Buzz buzz!” Noah scanned his surroundings.

What he saw was a black corridor which seemed to be constructed by some unknown metal. The wall could strangely enough reflect their shadows. But the shadows appeared twisted and seemed to emit a bone-chilling laughter.

[Illusion materialization art?] Noah smiled coldly. Illusions and such had no effect at all on him. Suddenly, he heard some buzzing sounds.

Following the sound a large grey cloud appeared. Once it got closer, Noah discovered that this dark cloud consisted of densely packed, moth-like organisms.

Fur grew on these organisms, and the image of a huge eye was depicted on each of their huge wings. It seemed quite eerie. “Careful! Those are the Spirit Devouring Moths!” The old witch raised the alarm.

“Don’t touch the dust that they carry, otherwise your spirit and mentality will be continuously corroded!” At the same time the old witch opened her mouth and emitted a shrill scream. Sound waves could be seen exploding forth.

*Boom!* Half of the grey clouds disappeared, and at the same time, a huge amount of dust billowed down like it was snowing.

"Fire Fist." Noah pointed to the cloud of the moths, releasing a fist made of flame at them, burning them like paper. The moths were powerless against fire, and turned to ashes in moments.

"Good, let's continue! The old witch took on her role as the leader and guided them in. Minutes later, the four of them came to a fork in the path.


	137. Chapter 137

In front of Noah and the rest of the exploration team, a passage made of jet-black metal had opened up to three pathways, each leading to a different direction.

At each of the entrances, there were no obvious signs at all, causing a wave of foreboding to go through the four of them.

“Since it’s a laboratory, how can there not be a sign for it?” Brass Ring took the initiative and asked. “There might have been one that had been destroyed by someone, or the Mages here had another method of communication that we’re unaware of!”

The old witch shot a glance at Brass Ring. “What’s wrong? We’ve come all the way here, are you thinking of backing out of our deal?”

“Of course not!” Brass Ring shook his head like it was the most obvious thing to do.

Not only were the rewards that the old witch offered extremely generous, there was a large possibility of there being large amounts of profit from within the secret plane. Neither of these were things that Brass Ring was willing to give up on.

“In that case, should we split up into teams and search, or do it by ourselves?” Noah asked. “Of course, we’re going to go in as a group! This are the ruins left behind by ancient Mages! Traps and other defense mechanisms are not easy for us to dismantle even as a group! It’s much too dangerous for us to act alone!”

As the initiator of this operation, the old witch was resolute and made the decision for them. “We’ve set up everything in the town already, and in the next three days, there will certainly not be any people compelled to enter. This is enough time for us to clear up everything in the laboratory!”

After hearing her words, Jaye quickly agreed. Noah thought it through for a while and also nodded. “Alright then!” Hearing his agreement, Brass Ring had no choice but to curl his lip and approve of this suggestion.

The four of them chose the path that was on the far right and entered. *Step step* Black leather shoes and the metal flooring met, the friction causing a very piercing sound.

“Be careful. The methods of the ancient Spirit Slaying Sect are much more difficult to deal with than Spirit Devouring Moths…” The old witch reminded as he glanced at the surrounding walls.

A bright sound was constantly travelling through the passage, and there were also some echoes. Noah suddenly paused.

Only his figure was left in the entire passage. The old witch, Brass Ring, and Jaye had all disappeared! “What happened?” Noah fixed his attention on the red reflection on the metal wall.

"Did I activate some kind of trap?" A deep frown appeared on his face. “Looks like this expedition isn’t going to be so easy as before...”

*Ding!* Noah’s sudden stop seemed to have triggered some sort of mechanism, and behind him, the metallic walls seemed to have lives of their own as they converged, thus blocking his retreat.

"Hmm..." Releasing his mana sense, Noah found out that this black metallic wall in front of him was 47 meters thick. The only exit was in front, and there didn't seem to be much else to the trap. 

This type of trap was commonly used not to kill a Mage, but to make the opponent waste large amounts of mana, and just the slightest bit of hesitance would entrap the Mage within it. 

For that reason, Noah wasn't worried about this trap. The real problem posed the thing after this trap, the reason why this trap was put here in the first place.

As Noah was thinking to himself, the black metal in front of him started to distort and gather in the centre as if it had a life of its own.

The passage became increasingly narrow, to the point that only one person would be able to pass through. "Hmph, I can't let it continue, or it would take more mana to break out later."

*Baam!* Noah swung his arm and punched the metal wall. Thanks to his strength, the black metal wall cracked and began breaking off. Noah's strength was not to be underestimated.

*Bam bam bam!* With three more punches, Noah could tell that the wall was beginning to hurriedly melt and piece itself back together. 

But since Noah was close to the other side of the wall now, he activated his Shadow Armor and ran at the metal wall like a crazed bull. *Boom!* As Noah smashed through the wall, he could tell that he exited the passage.

He immediately surveyed his surroundings. This used to be a garden or a place where plants were cultivated. It had a large area, and streams of man-made sunlight shone upon the land. 

Those were the Sunbeam Moss, which were tenaciously exhibiting their usefulness. There was also evidence of plants wilting.

“Though this is just a small-scaled garden, it seems to have been well taken care of. It’s such a waste that it was abandoned…” Noah constantly swept his eyes over the garden.

“Oooh…” Just when Noah released his mana sense, a low and hoarse voice sounded, and an enormous and warped figure appeared in the line of his sight. It was a huge monster that was about 10 metres tall.

There were numerous frightful wounds that were sewn together on it, and it looked to be the result of putting different body parts together.

This stitched up monster’s right hand was twisted in a weird shape and had eight fingers. In the palm of its left hand was a large axe that was dotted with rust.

Other than the two large arms, there were many slim arms grown on its upper body and back which were continuously trembling.

“This is... the Loathsome Evil, a monster produced by the Spirit Slaying Sect.” Noah's eyes shined as he looked at this marvelous existence. “Such a huge physique! How much blood and flesh had to be sacrificed for its body to still be so solid?”

The Loathsome Evil was a creature that Noah had seen in ancient books. It was a type of life form that had been created by Mages.

Its exact origin was unknown, but Noah could very clearly remember that in ancient books, the Loathsome Evil had been described as a fiend.

This type of lifeform had an exceedingly powerful body and vitality. What was even more frightening was the spirit pollution constantly emanating from its body.

Ordinary people were simply unable to withstand the pollution caused to their spirits and bodies and usually died en masse.

As a result, the appearance of a Loathsome Evil generally marked the destruction of cities and the loss of countless lives. The most frightening record had been when an entire army of over a hundred Loathsome Evils appeared!

This terrifying army had destroyed two ancient Mage organizations and caused the deaths of approximately twenty percent or more of the population of the Brabet Kingdom.

Ultimately, only with the aid from an unknown ancient Magistrate Rank Mage was that terrible army completely destroyed.

“I didn’t expect the Spirit Slaying Sect to have created this Loathsome Evil. Then again, the timing is just right.” Within Noah's eyes, there appeared a flash of understanding.

Based on the annals of the continent's history, after the disaster caused by the Loathsome Evils, the Spirit Slaying Sect sank into a weird state of affairs. First, they proclaimed their conviction that a supreme Mage had descended, and then they ruled this world. 

Soon after, they carried a very large scale blood and flesh sacrifice and thereby disappeared from the continent. It was a weird proclamation.

Now, it was clear that the thriving Spirit Slaying Sect had offended the Mages of the Brabet Kingdom, so the Mages had all joined hands to destroy this sect.

At this moment, the Loathsome Evil that had been wandering around noticed Noah.

Through its eyes, one of which was big and the other small, its thirst for blood was self-evident. Even its huge, bloated body was trembling in excitement.

A light green haze permeated the entire garden. "This is Spirit Polution, a poisonous mist that corrodes both the soul and the body." This was the most dreadful attack of the Loathsome Evil.

Noah immediately took out his skull cross artifact and activated it, surrounding himself with a blood red barrier. 

Not only was the might of an ancient Loathsome Evil equivalent to an middle Officer Rank Mage, Noah was unsure of what the Spirit Slaying Sect had done to increase its strength, making it even more troublesome.

He wasn't willing to risk anything. Although he would be immune to soul damage thanks to his golden soul, his body would still melt under the green haze. Just as Noah had shielded himself, the light green haze had reached his location.

The moment Noah's blood red barrier came in contact with the haze, the sound of an object being corroded could be heard. 

The skull cross artifact produced unbearable sounds, the mana from Noah's soul orb being constantly consumed.

“Roarr!” Two thick arms suddenly grew from its back and touched the ground, supporting the Loathsome Evil.

With a burst of power, the Loathsome Evil’s speed rapidly increased, and it dashed towards Noah, slashing at his waist with the axe in his left hand!

Before that massive power reached him, Noah ducked through the crack in the axe by twisting his body at an unbelievable angle.

“Latent Fireball!” After dodging this attack, Noah looked around and saw that the garden had been almost completely engulfed by the green haze. 

Unless he killed this Loathsome Evil, it would have been impossible to pass through. In any case, Noah didn’t believe that the ancient Mages would let him leave so easily.

*Boom!* A huge crimson fireball crashed into the Loathsome Evil like a meteor, engulfing it completely in flames. The fireball also shot out numerous little sparks like shrapnel, burning everything they hit. 

“Grah!” The Loathsome Evil within the flames roared terrifyingly as it trembled on the floor, the many slim arms on its body melting and falling off. 

*Boom!!!* The crimson flames burnt through the Loathsome Evil’s belly, and instantly, innumerable spirits escaped out of its stomach.

These spirits’ faces were those of females and males of all ages, and most of these spirits were weirdly shaped. 

If they didn’t have an extra hand on their faces, there would be an extra three legs on their bodies. Some even had various organs and structures stuck on their bodies and looked extremely similar to the Loathsome Evil.

The similarities between all of these spirits was a lifeless look in their eyes as if they had lost all intelligence.

These spirits mindlessly dithered around the Loathsome Evil and seemed to hardly be afraid of the flames. They passed through without any trouble, and Noah’s expression changed.

“Could it be...” Noah suddenly had an idea. He immediately made some distance and activated his Shadow Armor. The shadows enveloped his body, creating armor befitting a knight.

Just then, with a high pitched cry from the Loathsome Evil, the surrounding spirits promptly blew up! *Boom!* Potentially hundreds of spirits exploded at the same time.

The flames on the Loathsome Evil’s body were extinguished in the explosion. The waves from the frightening explosion hit Noah. 

*Poof!* The defensive layer from the skull cross artifact suddenly flashed and fell apart like a soap bubble.

Noah was sent flying, as if he had collided with the head of a train, and destroyed countless buildings as he fell back. There was a long line on the ground, tracing the path that he had been pushed back.


	138. Chapter 138

*Rumble!* The ruins of the destroyed buildings flew through the air, and a black knight walked out of the raised dust. "That was unexpected. I didn't know it had this kind of ability."

Noah observed his current state. For the present, although his body received a tremendous jolt, he almost had no other injury. He then looked at the Loathsome Evil.

And by now, the Loathsome Evil had already approached him to attack!

On the present Loathsome Evil’s body, the majority of its hands had been cut off and it still had many burnt black patches and within its belly, a large hole had been cut open. This exposed its intestines and other unknown organs.

But these did not affect the Loathsome Evil’s mobility. On the contrary, to one’s eyes, the Loathsome Evil appeared to emit a scarlet radiance. Compared to before, it seemed to have become more fiendish.

The veins on its body seemed to be intertwined and protruding out, and they were like cyan snakes that were twisted about each other as this Loathsome Evil came at Noah.

Many of its body flesh and fat had become abnormal because it had been burnt, but its speed was faster than before.

At this moment, the giant Loathsome Evil attacked with a flying speed, while it unceasingly spread out waves of the spirit plague.

“Shadow Concealment!” When Noah saw this scene, his mouth continuously chanted the spell. 

At the same time, the shadows on his body emitted a dark lustre. As this dark light passed through him, his body became rather transparent.

Soon, the giant Loathsome Evil collided with the shadow of Noah and went past and shattered a rotten flower pot that was behind him, which burst into pieces.

[Not bad.] Noah looked at the Loathsome Evil that went past him, thoroughly taking in the sensation of being in concealment. 

This was a very strange feeling — time flowed as if it had been slowed by a tenfold. The surrounding atmosphere also felt very constricting. 

Each of Noah's movements needed to consume even more strength than when he was in normal environments.

The Loathsome Evil was now giving vent to its fury on the land surrounding it, as it had lost its original target. By chopping with its huge hatchet, it carved out many ditches in the surroundings, causing them to be in a complete mess.

Noah noticed that the body of Loathsome Evil had a strange green tint to it. Even the surrounding scenery, land and atmosphere was being polluted by a shining green mist. This green mist was very dense. 

Noah's body felt as if it was hovering in mid-air; it slowly floated towards the Loathsome Evil. The Loathsome Evil seemed to sense something and brandished the enormous hatchet in its left hand; as it did so, the enormous orange yellow hatchet swung at Noah's waist.

If Noah was currently in his physical form, he would already have been chopped into two halves. But the current him was just a shadow in reality. When the enormous hammer swung past, his body just wavered.

The giant Loathsome Evil frantically brandished its hatchet. It often struck at Noah's body, but not even a single piece of the clothing Noah wore was torn.

It came closer and closer. Noah kept himself in the sliding position and hovered above the Loathsome Evil.

When he looked down, he could see the constantly secreted yellow pus of the Loathsome Evil and the disordered teeth in its large mouth.

*Swish!* With a flash of a black shadow, Noah directly appeared in front of the Loathsome Evil. Currently, his pupils had already changed to an amber colour, seemingly giving a peculiar gaze.

Innate spell, the Eye of Petrification!

The Loathsome Evil, noticing him, couldn’t help but look into Noah’s eyes with a bizarre expression.

*Creak! Creak!* A greyish white halo started to shoot out from the Loathsome Evil’s eyes and its face seemed to be constantly expanding.

“Roar!” When the petrification effect had affected the entire head of the Loathsome Evil, it suddenly raised its head and roared.

Following the roar, the Loathsome Evil’s flesh bulged. There were also two enormous solid flesh protrusions that suddenly appeared on its shoulder. It looked like it had grown two arms.

While its flesh was transforming, the greyish skin on the Loathsome Evil face’s shedded. It was like a snake shedding its skin. It was gaining immunity to the petrification.

As expected, the movement of the Loathsome Evil slowed down. It opened its mouth and maintained an eccentric smiling expression. 

It was like a machine that had not yet been wound up, making it stop in a peculiar condition. [This is a great opportunity.]

Noah's eyes lit up. Numerous crimson fireballs entered the Loathsome Evil’s mouth, causing continuous explosions within its body.

At the same time, he activated his beast teeth necklace, releasing beast illusions at the Loathsome Evil. With a roar, the beast illusions swung their paws at the Loathsome Evil's neck.

*Gurgle! Splat* The yellowish green pus splattered everywhere. Simultaneously, the enormous head of the Loathsome Evil was savagely ripped off its neck, falling down on the floor.

After losing its head, the Loathsome Evil’s four limbs were still moving. It was as though it was trying to flee. 

With quick chants, Noah threw Latent Fireballs at it. The flame enveloped the Loathsome Evil’s body and head, simultaneously shredding it continuously.

*Crack!* The head of the Loathsome Evil split apart and a group of grotesque-looking spirits appeared. However, Noah was already prepared for that as he flung himself at the spirits, swinging his arm at them.

"Aaarrggh!" With terrifying screams, the spirits melted away, disappearing from existence itself. They couldn't even self-destruct. Mournful and piercing screams constantly rang in Noah's ears.

The Loathsome Evil’s corpse that was at the center of the flame had already stopped moving. Moreover, under the effect of flames, from its fat body, a fatty, oily and viscous liquid began to flow down and around the surface of its body.

This fluid was extremely viscous and its colour was an odd black. As that black, oily liquid constantly flowed, the corpse of the Loathsome Evil gradually became smaller, as though it was shrinking.

The ten-meter-long, enormous body started to shrink to the height of an ordinary person and finally became a monkey-like form with a wrinkled body.

“Is this the core?” Noah looked at the constantly shrinking head of the Loathsome Evil. When the head was completely dehydrated, an ordinary head appeared before Noah's eyes.

Even though the skin was filled with creases, Noah was able to recognise that this was a head of a middle-aged man, aged roughly 30 years or near about.

“It looks like the main ingredient in making this Loathsome Evil’s body is a human body. Moreover, the manufacturing of its huge body is by inserting an enormous amount of crazed spirits into the human body and making them fuse together...”

This method made Noah feel as though the human body was a womb and was nurturing something. 

[The fusion rate with the human body was extremely high as those Loathsome Evils were originally human spirits. It’s unknown how the Spirit Slaying Sect was able to solve the problem in fusing the spirits into the body. It’s the key skill!] Noah's thoughts constantly revolved.

He had a feeling that this wasn’t the final stage in the experiment on this Loathsome Evil.

The frantic spirits would finally breakout from the body after undergoing constant fusion with the body of the Loathsome Evil. They would get much stronger as they grow, creating a more sinister being in existence!

"Fascinating..." Noah smiled in admiration. It was such a pity that he didn't possess the key skill for fusing evil spirits and humans, otherwise he'd be able to create his own Loathsome Evils.

The smell of something burning wafted in the air, along with a repulsive stench that could make one feel nauseous.

Noah walked to the center. The human corpses had long since been burnt to ashes. On the ground, in the middle of the charred and indented formation, a glistening object caught his eye.

Lying in the pit were fragments of green crystals, sparkling and splendid like little diamonds. Crouching down, Noah grabbed ahold of the little diamonds.

“…” All of a sudden, a low chant of salutations entered Noah’s ear, seeming to have been produced from within the green diamonds.

Filled with curiosity, Noah brought the diamonds closer to his ear. “Thank you, young man!” In an instant, a dazzling white light seemed to fill the entire flower garden. In the white light, Noah looked at tens of thousands of phantom human figures.

The countenances of these phantoms seemed familiar; they were the evil spirits from earlier, but they had assumed their original form of a human.

The phantoms were both male and female. Some of them were even dressed like Mages. However, at this moment, they expressed gentle smiles as they slowly faded in the white light.

"It's a shame I don't have Darkness Element now, or I could've caught them for myself..." Noah looked at the surroundings. As if it was due to the death of the Loathsome Evil, the green coloured plague quickly retreated, once again revealing the flower garden.

As for the spirit bodies from earlier, they had all disappeared without a trace, as if he were just dreaming.

The green spirit plague had now completely vanished. Many fine cracks littered the black rock walls at the edge of the garden. Noah walked in front of the cracks, and gently knocked on the fractured wall.

*Crash!* Numerous stones fell, and large clouds of lime were thrown into the air. There was a deep hole in the wall, which was flickering with pitch black light rays.

Inside the hole was a bronze colored path. The pathway seemed to be formed using ceramic. It looked extremely crude, but had a unique, good feeling about it.

As for the path, there was even a line of ancient characters. “Tunnel to Experiment Lab #1! Top secret! Only authorized personnel allowed!” 

“This material..." Noah touched the bronze coloured ceramic wall. He felt that the material used to make this wall was extremely sturdy. 

Also, it gave him a similar feeling to the Blood Sobbing Alloy inside the Hanging Gardens. They were both used to isolate energy waves. “If this is really what I think it is, the item that is locked in here must be remarkable.”

Noah cocked his head and pondered, not daring to enter recklessly. Instead, he found an empty space, and used his mana to inscribe runes, creating a strange formation. 

The appearance of this formation was extremely strange, looking like an inverted “J.” Afterwards, Noah also carved a similar rune on his robes.

Noah's insecurities lessened once he set up the formation. He also placed some concealment spells in order to hide the formation on the ground. Somewhat satisfied, he entered the bronze tunnel.

The bronze coloured pathway wasn’t long, and Noah quickly reached its depths. There was a small hall and in front of it, there was a black metal door, which was extremely tall, and over 4 meters wide.

On the metal door frame, there were various magic runes with the words ‘Experiment Lab #1. Supervisor: Edward’ written on it.

The words on the metal door were obviously very old, as there was some dust on it, and it looked slightly beaten.

When Noah was in front of the doors, two figures entered his field of view. After seeing them, Noah took the initiative to go forth. “Old Devil and Jaye, where’s Brass Ring?”

The old witch and Jaye were the ones that had appeared in front of Experiment Lab #1, while Brass Ring’s location was unknown.

“We stepped into a trap set up by the ancient Mages that caused us to become lost! In the trap, every time when we thought our partners were beside us, we had actually been separated and had gone further apart…”

The old witch replied. “When the trap activated, and the four of us entered the different pathways, I was met with a sound illusion that was arranged by the ancient Mages. After an intense battle, I found this place, and met up with Jaye. Her experiences were similar to mine.”

Noah nodded his head, after which he briefly stated his encounters. As for his abilities and spells, he had naturally glossed over the narration of that area. “In this case, we should just wait for Brass Ring…”

“We don’t have to anymore! I can sense that Brass Ring is already dead!” Jaye spoke abruptly, causing Noah to feel somewhat surprised.

This fellow, who seemed like a female, had seldom spoken ever since the group was formed. She also seemed to be rather close to the old witch, yet her energy waves were not very strong, just at the level of an average Paragon Rank Mage.

But now Noah could not help but to look at Jaye. Even though Jaye was still wearing a black cloak, her cloak was tattered. It seemed to bear traces of her battle. Apart from that, the energy waves from Jaye’s body were fluctuating at an unsteady rate. 

Sometimes, they had the strength of a peak Paragon Rank, while at other times, it felt like a fledgling Paragon Rank Mage who had just advanced. At other times, it would intensify greatly, keeping Noah guessing.

“Jaye had learned and remembered an extremely special spell. We were able to estimate the timing of the death of the Mage, so we decided to wait for you here!”

Jaye seemed rather antisocial, and she would not speak unless it was of the utmost importance. Everything else was explained by the old witch.

“Is that right?” Noah was a little doubtful, but as there was an unknown amount of Mages that built on spells that their ancestors had created or modified in order to create many different unique spells to be passed down, Noah wasn’t able to make a decision regarding what the old witch had said.

“Since you’re here, let’s take a short break before attempting to enter this Experiment Lab #1!” The old witch seemed rather zealous. “I have a feeling that the altar I need is right inside!”

Noah was somewhat speechless. This old witch appeared too impatient. However, he still walked forward, and touched the black metal door.

Upon contact, an icy cold feeling could be felt as first, before a hotter temperature was felt. As for the sturdy metal door, it gave off a feeling of being indestructible.

From the runes and incantations on the door, Noah could tell that this room was not used for experiments, but as a prison of some sort. There was a brass keyhole at the center of the black door. 

"Do you have a key, or do we need to break the door?" Noah asked. “There’s no need for that! It’s here with me!” The old witch cackled, withdrawing an extremely thick yellow bronze key from her robes.

This key was rather curvy, as if it was a ladle, but it was a perfect fit for the keyhole on the door. The old witch took the bronze key, and inserted it into the door. “Wait a minute!” At this moment, a figure appeared in front of her.

"Maverick, what are you doing?” The old witch looked at Noah, who was blocking her, rage evident on her face. Jaye immediately stood behind the old witch at this moment. 

“It’s nothing much, I just feel that the danger within has somewhat exceeded my expectations. I wish to withdraw.” Noah was extremely calm.

“According to the information I’ve seen, this Spirit Slaying Sect has been the advocate behind the scenes of many ancient calamities. Moreover, it had been undergoing extremely dangerous spirit research…”

Noah's expression was extremely sincere as he continued to talk. “Therefore, I suggest that we temporarily stop this exploration, and attempt to explore again after gaining much greater powers.”


	139. Chapter 139

When the old witch heard Noah's words, she stared at the middle aged man before saying with a dry and hoarse voice. “I’ve known you for almost half a year and didn’t know that you were such a cowardly Mage.”

"A Mage's life is long, and half a year isn't a lot. Moreover, to give up after knowing it’s dangerous isn’t a cowardly action.” Noah smiled in response.

“That is to say that you are unwilling to continue on no matter what?” The old witch asked. “….” Silence was his response.

*Pang!* The old witch didn’t say anything, but Jaye, who was behind her immediately made her move.

A green-coloured hurricane instantly swept past the area Noah was. *Crash!* Constant clear sounds were heard.

Following that, a crimson flame exited the hurricane, which burned half of the small hall and was heading towards Jaye.

“Hmph!” Jaye coldly snorted. Her cloak fluttered without any wind as Wind Element particles were raised.

When the flame and the energy particles collided against each other in the air, an intense explosion occurred. Jaye’s body shook and was forced three steps back. The presence from her body became unstable.

"Want some more?" Noah put on a provocative smile as he already prepared another spell. 

“Enough!” The old witch shielded Jaye, with green light rays being emitted from her eyes. With Noah's observation skills, he knew that she was frantically warning him. It looks like she really cared about this mysterious Mage...

“Jaye, you too. I’m friends with Maverick. You don’t have to be so wary of him.” When the old witch saw that Noah moved to the side, the green rays from her eyes also dimmed before she said that to Jaye who was behind her.

“I understand!” Jaye answered softly. “Maverick, even though we haven’t been together for long, we should know each other’s personality. State whatever terms you have!” The progress of the situation was slightly beyond what Noah had expected.

He originally thought that with the powers that he had displayed and unintentional fight against the Jaye, the old witch should reasonably make him leave or explore other places. However, it appears that the old witch needed his presence inside for an unknown reason.

"Fine then, to prove your sincerity, I want your share of the benefits from this place." Noah calmly stated his condition. “No problem!” The old witch tossed an ancient scroll towards Noah without a single thought.

"This is..." Noah's eyes shined. It was unexpectedly a map of this research lab. He immediately carved the map into his memory. “I shall also include this! How is that? Will that suffice you to risk yourself?”

When the old witch saw that Noah had caught up in muttering to himself irresolutely, she tossed a black bag at him. "These items can even tempt Officer Rank Mages. What do you say?"

Noah looked inside the bag. There were some more green diamonds inside, the same ones he picked up after slaying the Loathsome Evil, some research notes and even some low grade and middle grade herbs.

Following that, Noah looked at the old witch. “I’ll accompany you and risk my life with you on behalf of these few months of friendship. However, if I find that something is wrong, I’ll retreat straight away and I won’t continue to participate in this in the future.”

“That’s naturally the case!” The old witch agreed. After that, she walked past Noah to insert the bronze key into the lock. *Clang! Dong!* *Clang! Dong!*

The sound of gears turning could be heard as the old witch turned the key. The sound was weak at the start, but it got stronger after that. Finally, the entire hall was filled with sounds of gears coming into contact with each other.

*Creak!* Streaks of cracks appeared on the black metal door. After a few cracks appeared, it rapidly segregated into countless little black metal pieces. 

The black metals flew to the sides, revealing the scene of the Experiment Lab #1. The only thing Noah could only see were countless white human bones.

The densely packed bones were layered, forming a small mountain of white bones. 

After that, a rotting odour that had been there for many years, accompanied by the scent of death, rotten flesh and Darkness Element particles, turned into a black wave rising forth towards the three of them.

This was the Experiment Lab #1 inside the secret plane of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect. It actually formed a scene of the massacre of numerous people.

“As expected….It’s the same as the records!” The old witch and Jaye were already prepared as they opened a scroll, where a fiery red shield enveloped them.

The black-colored Darkness Element particles constantly surged against the exterior of the shield, but they were burned out by the Fire Element particles.

Once the wave had receded, the old witch seemed to not have sustained any injuries. She was currently just staring fixatedly at the mountain of white bones with excitement shown in her eyes.

“According to the information recorded, the altar I need is at the summit of this mountain of white bones.” The old witch climbed up, using the white bones as her path.

*Crack!* The white bones that had existed for an unknown period of time crumbled into powder under her steps, forming an extremely thick layer.

Noah and Jaye followed slowly behind her. While Noah walked, he fiddled with the bones on the ground. Even though many bones had utterly rotted, there were still some complete bones.

Currently, Noah was detailedly observing a white bone that was slightly thicker than the ones in the surroundings.

[From the shape of this bone, it should be human’s right thigh.] Noah gauged the weight of the bone in his hand. [It’s very heavy and this bone clearly had transformed as this isn’t something an ordinary person would have.]

At the bottom of this mountain of white bones, its perimeter was the largest and had the most number of bones, but the majority of them were ordinary human bones. There were very few of these strange bones.

Following the climb up, there appeared to be strange bones everywhere. Noah even found a bone even heavier and larger than the previous ones.

When they were halfway up the mountain, it was completely filled with these mutated and heavy bones. There were even some Ranked Mage bones. A Mage's body had a certain concentration of radiation. It was easy to see that even from the bones.

The old witch and Jaye were definitely bewildered from the start and took in a cold breath after seeing these bones.

“From the form, there must be at least 20,000 or more Ranked Mage bones buried here, most definitely belonging to Paragon Rank Mages. There's also an unknown number of bones belonging to Officer Rank Mages…” Noah exclaimed with interest. 

Similarly, he also knew why the Spirit Slaying Sect was annihilated. No matter what was the reason, killing this many Mages would definitely attract the crowd’s rage. This was different from massacring ordinary people, which resulted in them being severely punished.

As expected, while they neared the summit, they found numerous Officer Rank Mage corpses. At the summit, there were often partially rotten corpses and the robe on them could be seen distinctly. Some weren’t rotten as much so they looked as though they were just sleeping.

Moreover, from the radiation emitted from the remnants of the ancient magicians, it was way beyond that of the Paragon Ranks. Some of the remaining aura even made Noah worried.

“Unexpectedly, there are some bones that hadn’t entirely rotted...” The old witch exclaimed.

“The environment was extremely sealed and they seemed to have had anti-rotting measures. Moreover, these Mages aren’t ordinary people so from the circumstances...” Noah calmly replied.

He was currently stepping on a female Mage’s charming face. That Mage's face had extremely perfected structure with fine eyelashes. Her beautiful eyes could be seen clearly. 

It was imaginable that this Mage was a rare beauty in the ancient times, but unlike the other two, Noah stepped on her face without any hesitation. It looked just as if he was stepping on stones. 

At the current position, the mountain of white bones had become a mountain of corpses and if Noah and the rest wanted to continue, there had to constantly step on the corpses of the ancient Mages.

“This is blasphemy! Bare naked profaneness! These crazy fellows of the Spirit Slaying Sect, they disrespect the honor of the Ranked Mages!”

It was beyond Noah’s expectation that Jaye, who was the most antisocial in the group, was the first to condemn their crimes. It was almost hilarious, as she herself was a dark Mage.

“However, in any time, power decides everything. These Mages were caught by the Spirit Slaying Sect so they had to bear with the outcome.” Noah said.

This was the world they lived in. Only results and benefits matter in the end. Honor, love, sympathy, friendship, kindness, such things should be left to the ordinary people. This was what Noah believed in.

Those who couldn't understand such simple things were the first to die in the world of Ranked Mages. For that reason, some people even refuse advancing to become a Ranked Mage. They just couldn't bear with the loss of their humanity.

As a human, it was natural to feel a tinge of regret for your fallen fellow human beings. However, in this current world, was this not commonplace?

Hundreds of living beings die every day to various illnesses, monsters or perhaps whims of Ranked Mages. Those without power are trampled, while those with power trample. 

It was a simple way of life, one that Noah greatly enjoyed. For that reason, he actually loved this world, regardless of whatever sufferings he experienced in his past life.

“Stop bickering. We’re here!” Noah was woken out of his thoughts by a raspy and excited voice. The old witch that was heading forth in a daze suddenly stopped. Her voice was rueful, but it contained more ferventness and longing.


	140. Chapter 140

Upon hearing her words, Noah looked up. Unconsciously, they had already reached the peak of the mountain of white bones. Here, it was completely deserted except for the white altar at the peak of the mountain.

If one looked closely, it could be seen that the altar was made entirely out of human bones. These bones emitted energy fluctuations that far exceeded that of an Officer Rank Mage, and just the aura made the air stifling.

On some bones that were wider, there were strange runes handwritten in blood. These runes were extremely complicated. Some were similar to 3D images, and Noah had never seen any of them before.

[What runes are these? Some kind of Spirit Slaying Sect language or code?] Noah released his mana sense and closely eyed these strange runes. They even appeared a bit ethereal.

What struck him the most was how, even though the runes had existed for over five thousand years, the blood was bright red and still looked fresh, as if ready to drip to the ground.

At the very centre of the altar, there was an odd skull used as a sacrifice. The skull was similar to that of a human’s skull, but on the cranium, there were two black, bent horns like that of a goat. 

It didn't belong to any monster or demi human Noah knew of, so that was also closely inspected with his mana sense.

Also, in the middle of the two horns, there was a small round hole that seemed to serve no purpose. “Is this the spirit altar you were looking for?”

Noah glanced at the old witch, but her eyes were already fixed on the altar. She was murmuring words in a language that he did not know, and seemed to have forgotten about the existence of the others with her.

What made Noah more surprised was Jaye, who was beside him. Even with the cover of the huge black cloak, Noah could tell she was shivering badly.

This discovery worried Noah, but at the same time, a sense of amazement in his heart was intensified. “It’s here. Right here… My darling, I can now help you…”

While mumbling incessantly, the old witch produced a fragment of a piece of parchment and threw it towards the altar. At the same time, Jaye, who had been shaking all this while, suddenly made her move!

Streams of translucent, faintly green rays of light descended from the sky and formed a large net, aiming for Noah. 

The surrounding air produced a hissing sound, and there seemed to be some undulations in the scenery around them.

“What are you doing?” Noah bellowed, though his expression did not undergo much change. It was apparent that he had been expecting something like this, and had thus made some preparations.

"Latent Fireball." *Boom!* A huge crimson fireball made contact with the net, burning it and releasing shrapnel all over the place. Noah's figure flickered and he shifted over ten metres away from his original spot.

“Madori Defensive Spell Formation!” Jaye, who was in the black cloak, was well aware that Noah's power surpassed hers. She had acted first in order to gain the upperhand.

While Noah was dealing with that large net, Jaye had already fixed up a defensive formation around the spirit altar!

“Activate!” Along with Jaye’s words, translucent black rays rose around the spirit altar, keeping the altar, Jaye and the old witch protected inside.

“Latent Fireball!” With a flash of Noah’s eyes, another big fireball began rushing toward the defensive formation.

*Bang!* The flames spread, and even with Jaye within the dome trying her very best to maintain it, it was still vibrating vigorously, as if on the verge of breaking.

However, Jaye was unperturbed and chanted a few incantations. *Buzz buzz!* From the bottom of the altar, a circle of black light emerged, merging with the defensive spell formation.

*Peng!* With the addition of this circle of light, the entire defensive spell formation immediately became more radiant. Its colour was black to the extreme, and it was almost impossible to see the figures behind the formation.

Flames from the Latent Fireball burnt at the surface of the dome for over ten seconds. But when facing the reinforced defensive spell formation, they could do little but succumb and disperse.

“This…” Seeing how Jaye seemed to be able to take advantage of the powers of the laboratory, Noah hastily moved a few steps backwards.

The old witch was sure to have hidden a lot of information from him. Thinking back to the map that she so readily handed out to Noah, he was certain that the old witch had found out about these ruins much earlier, contrasting with what she had said. 

She must have already reaped a bountiful harvest from within the ruins before this expedition. 

“Give up! This is the core of the secret plane. After borrowing a portion of its strength, it’s impossible to break through this defensive formation unless your power has reached such heights that you’re able to destroy this entire secret plane!”

From within the black dome, Jaye’s faint voice was transmitted over. However, there was no hint of joy in her gaze and her eyes were not on Noah but rather on the witch. There were dozens of complicated emotions on her face- anticipation, joy, and also... fear!

Upon coming into contact with the altar, the yellowed fragmented piece of parchment burst into flames.

These flames were a light yellow and extremely pure. They started off as small as a bean and gradually crept to engulf the entire parchment, the flames turning light blue. At the same time, the altar seemed to come to life and began to tremble.

From the gaps between the bones of the altar, fresh red blood trickled down. Dark rays were emitted from the eye sockets of many skulls.

“Old witch. You’d better calm down. It’s obvious that there’s an extremely strong and evil being trapped within the altar. I don’t care if you made a pact or some contract with it, but the strong won’t bother making transactions with the weak.”

Outside the spell formation, Noah spoke rather calmly, as if he wasn't in any danger whatsoever. He knew that whatever was sealed here was undoubtedly a spirit, as the altar wasn't big enough to contain a physical body inside.

Since it was a spirit, why would Noah be afraid? If his golden soul could burn a General Rank demon like Niolo out of existence, then something like an evil spirit was nothing to him.

He was just trying to figure out the old witch's motives as well as the identity of the sealed thing inside the altar. 

“Of course, I know what’s in there! I knew about it 157 years ago! If not for it being in hibernation, and the conditions to awaken it being too harsh, I would have summoned it a long time ago… As long as I summon it, I can…”

The old witch’s facial muscles twisted, her expression crazed as she gestured wildly. This exposed her knowledge about the ruins.

“You need to think this through. This is an evolved being that escaped out of the Loathsome Evil’s body and is much more sinister and vicious. It’s something the likes of you definitely can’t control.”

As Noah talked to her, he’d already left his original position and backed away to where they had climbed up.

“I know better than you how vicious it can get! Even though I can’t control it, I know how it was assembled and basically everything there is to know about it. As long as we give enough offerings, with the power of this spirit altar, I can definitely…”

Her eyes were crazed as she spread out her arms and yelled. “Come out! The collective body of vengeance, the manipulator of spirits and bodies! The supreme king, Gargamel!”

“Gargamel?!” Noah's eyes widened in surprise and amazement. In his past life, he had seen plenty of records regarding the Spirit Slaying Sect and naturally knew about this Gargamel. It was a being that the sect had worshipped.

They believed that a spirit was the last resting place for all beings, and the Gargamel was the one in charge of all these spirits!

It was apparent that this was a Gargamel that had already taken shape after the Spirit Slaying Sect’s immense efforts in cultivating it. 

However, for some reason, this Gargamel had been sealed here by the Mages of the sect. The old witch had obviously received the inheritance from the Spirit Slaying Sect and obtained many benefits. 

She had also been working hard to unseal the Gargamel. Noah believed he had a rough understanding of this whole situation. "Fascinating..." He muttered to himself quietly. 

This was something truly amazing. A chance to see the being this infamous ancient sect worshipped, the evolved form of the Loathsome Evil! Noah was hoping that the old witch would hurry up and awaken it for him to see.

"Mother..." Jaye, who was nearby, gave a low sigh. At this very moment, the piece of parchment on the altar had already been burnt to ashes and, with a cry from the old witch, streams of black gases streamed out of the gaps within the bones of the altar.

*Weng Weng!* An ancient devil was awake once more. An aura that caused one’s heart to palpitate in fear arrived on top of the mountain of white bones.

Ice-cold! Evil! Just with the leakage of this aura, the secret plane vibrated slightly. A vast amount of black gas converged and gradually solidified, forming a gigantic translucent figure.

The figure brought the skull on top of the altar to its face, treating it as a mask. Its two completely red eyes seemed to be looking down on every one of the Mages present as if they were mere ants. “Jiik!” The black figure bellowed towards the sky.

With the tremendous sound waves, the black defensive spell formation that had caused Noah some trouble instantaneously gave way, and the old witch and Jaye were forced aside from the pressure.

*Baam!* "Cough!" As the old witch flew backwards, mouthfuls of blood spurted out like water gurgling in a spring.

The black figure now released its pressure outside, forcing both Jaye and the old witch on their knees. Shockingly, it's power climbed up beyond Officer Rank and straight into middle General Rank!


	141. Chapter 141

“Respected Lord Gargamel… Cough cough… please accept our offerings.” Jaye, who was at the side, suffered quite a deal from the energy waves. 

However, she was still better off than the old witch and was somewhat able to stand up. Observing these circumstances, she was partly kneeling in a bizarre position, while tossing a severed Mage's head in front of the black shadow.

"As expected..." Noah recognized whose head it was. It seemed that Brass Ring didn’t die because of the secret plane’s mechanisms after all, but was instead ambushed by the old witch and Jaye.

Right now, Noah stood to the side, an ecstatic expression on his face. [Marvelous...] 

Although the black shadow atop the altar didn’t look his way, he could clearly feel an extremely vicious and unyielding General Rank pressure trying to lock him down. A pity that it was useless.

*Crunch! Crunch!* Immediately after receiving the head of Brass Ring, whose expression still held traces of disbelief, the black shadow put it into its mouth and started to chew.

An absolutely horrifying grinding noise could be heard reverberating from the top of the skeleton mound.

“Ji Ji!” After the black shadow swallowed the head whole, it gave off a sound of satisfaction. 

Moreover, a scarlet tongue licked its lips, apparently with a desire for more. “Ah, a spirit that fulfills the conditions! State your wishes!”

An ancient and cryptic voice sounded directly into Noah and the others’ consciousness, spoken in a language Noah had never heard before. 

Strangely, they could all understand the meaning of each word that was being spoken. “I want…” Jaye slowly opened her mouth.

“Let my daughter Jaye come back to life! Give her a new body filled with life!” The old witch, who had fallen to the side, suddenly grew frantic as she threw herself in front of the Gargamel’s shadow. “If you can fulfill my desire, I will pay any price necessary!”

It could be a misperception, but after the old witch spoke of those words, Noah seemed to notice a hint of… ridicule in the Gargamel’s gigantic eyes. “I need… I need more offerings…”

The giant shadow licked its lips, “According to the principles of spirit transformation, a strong male Mage proficient in the Fire Element is a necessary offering!”

“I got it!” Old witch retrieved a couple of crystal balls filled with spiritual powers, and in addition, pointed towards Noah. “As for the offering, it’s that Mage!”

Noah looked at the three of them with an emotionless gaze. It looked like it was time to leave. “Can you tell me the truth now?” Noah’s voice was muffled as if he had lost all hope. “After all, we’re still allies.”

“Other than the agreement on the making of the potion and how we were to divide them, there wasn’t any condition that said we couldn’t injure one another!”

The old witch was still trembling incessantly as if she was about to topple to the ground and die any second. 

At the same time, however, she was extremely zealous, and her cheeks were flushed. “I’m willing to do anything for Jaye, much less sacrifice an ally like you that has wicked intentions!”

“So Jaye is your daughter?” Noah immediately turned his head towards Jaye, the black-cloaked person. Jaye nodded her head and removed the black gown she wore.

A translucent image of a girl appeared in front of Noah. The image had the appearance of a very young and pretty woman, and on her pretty face, one could still see some traces of how the old witch looked when she was in her youth.

“A human soul? Interesting.” Noah thought back to how Jaye had been silent the entire time, and how she even wore a thick pair of gloves. 

Of course, there should also have been other secret methods that were used, or else Noah and Brass Ring, who had spent some time with her, would have discovered the abnormalities of Jaye’s body long before.

“My poor daughter permanently lost her physical body after an accident during an experiment. All that I can do is to constantly transfuse life force into her and prolong the amount of time that she can stay in this world…” The old witch’s eyes were glazed over as if she was reminiscing the past.

“Even though Jaye is already dead, I have never given up on my wish to bring her back to life! By a stroke of fate, I remembered some materials about the Spirit Slaying Sect that I had obtained when I was young. Their spirit transferring technique is definitely able to resurrect my daughter and help her regain a physical body!”

“So you’ve been collecting spirits and continuously trying to unseal this Gargamel?” Noah inquired.

“That’s right!” The old witch frankly admitted to it. “It is also thanks to your potions. Without them, Jaye’s spirit would not have been strengthened enough to allow her to withstand the transfer…”

It seemed that all of the Tears of Mary potions that the old witch had received from Noah had gone to Jaye. As a result, Jaye’s spirit was able to increase from that of an ordinary person to the level of an Ranked Mage.

“Also, in order to summon the Gargamel and resurrect Jaye, a few conditions need to be met!” Having planned this for decades and on the verge of seeing it succeed, the old witch was obviously in the mood to say everything that was on her mind.

For some reason, the shadowy Gargamel did not make a move, and just waited as she spoke.

“I need to initiate the process of summoning the Gargamel through the use of a Ranked Mage who meets several stringent requirements, such as those in terms of aptitude and physique. Do you know how long it took me to look for you two offerings? Do you have any idea how long I waited for this moment?”

The old witch’s expression became crazed. Without even waiting for Noah to speak, she thundered. “53 years! To fulfil these conditions, I waited 53 whole years!”

“In these 53 years, my darling Jaye suffered a lot…sob…sob… “ At the climax of her narration, the old witch’s tears flowed down her face, while Jaye stood silently to one side. “All of my efforts have been rewarded. Now, my beloved daughter, Jaye, will be resurrected!!”

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" A malicious laughter suddenly woke up the old witch from her state. She looked at Noah, who was not only calm, but was also roaring with laughter.

"My apologies, but seeing a failure of a Ranked Mage like you spew nonsense was too hilarious." Noah wiped a tear that formed in the corner of his eye.

Seeing this, the old witch's eyes glowed with a green glow and her voice was furious as she opened her mouth. "What?" 

"Old witch, don't tell me that you don't know. Ranked Mages are beings that only care about themselves because of survival and power. People like you, who care about family and such things, should have just remained ordinary people." Noah scoffed.

"You could have advanced into the Officer Rank years before, but because you allowed yourself to be chained down by ordinary things, you are now a poor husk at the end of your lifespan. That is why you are a failure." The look in Noah's eyes changed from mocking to indifferent.

The old witch felt the veins pop out on her forehead, making her look vicious and terrifying. "How dare someone like you, who doesn't know the feeling of affection towards your blood, lecture me?!?!" 

Immediately turning around, she prostrated herself on the ground in front of the Gargamel, who looked like he was a spectator enjoying a drama.

“Honourable Gargamel, based on the rules for replacement, I present to you this Mage as an offering. In return, I want you to help my daughter regain a physical body!”

The old witch was gasping for breath as she placed several bizarre items on the altar while she made her request.

“This replacement is allowed!” From under the skull mask that the shadow was wearing, it seemed to be looking at Noah and the others with a faint trace of mockery in its expression.

The old witch who was kneeling on the ground, as well as Jaye, who seemed confused, did not notice this. “As much as I want to stay behind and watch the show, I’m sorry.”

Noah grinned as the large arm of the Gargamel approached him. "Now that your magic has been set, you aren’t able to move anymore. I won’t be overstaying then. Everyone, goodbye."

As Noah lightly bowed, he activated his innate spell Shadow Armor, turning him into a black armored knight. At the same time, a reverse symbol ‘j’ became bright and visible on the armor.

A strong attraction force acted on Noah's body and pulled him away so hard that all that was left behind him was a black shadowy afterimage.

When the old witch and Jaye recovered from their surprise; Noah had already vanished without a trace in front of their eyes. 

"This is impossible, how can you leave? This is impossible! Our ritual has been set. This is impossible!!! Maverick come back here!!!" The old witch issued a piercing and desperate roar.

Jaye wore a complicated expression on her face, as if she had lost all hope, and heaved a despairing sigh.

“The material for the replacement has disappeared. But the ceremony has already started and must not be interrupted. Start using other materials instead…”

The Gargamel only watched from a distance the spot from where Noah had vanished but did not chase after him. 

Instead, he said a few words that caused the expressions on the old witch and Jaye’s face to drastically change.

“Nooooooo!” Together with the unceasing spell which was being dispelled, a shriek filled with hopelessness and despair rang out, piercing through the entire mountain of white bones.

......

*Bang!* A huge explosion erupted and the spell formation laid on top of the white ground in the garden shattered.

Meanwhile, a black human shadow was drawn to this place and created a deep indent as it smashed into the ground due to the huge gravitational force.

“Cough Cough…” At the bottom of a huge pit, Noah fiercely spat out a mouthful of sand and pebbles, mixed with some blood. "What a shame that the spell formation is incomplete, resulting in my injuries..."

Despite the grimace on his face, he jumped out of this large pit quickly and observed his surroundings. This was the place where he had fought with the vengeful spirit, the Loathsome Evil, and also where he had arranged this spell formation.

“This suction spell formation was truly set up perfectly.” Noah sighed and quickly remembered the map of the secret plane he extorted from the old witch before.

He soon found the optimal path to the oil painting in the outside world. *Jiji!* Just then, from the Gargamel’s location, a loud, weird noise could be heard. 

Then a black shadow became larger and larger and finally unfurled itself within the sky. *Crash!* It was as if the entire sky in the secret plane had been ripped apart, exposing a pitch-black hole, and many blood red lightning bolts hacked at this black shadow.

The shadow wore a strange skull mask and struck out at the constantly roaring lightning and thunder. The repercussions of this fight, caused everything to be turned to dust wherever it landed. 

And the battlefield slowly expanded, reaching to the location where Noah was. Seeing this apocalypse-like scene, Noah did not think for long, and immediately broke into a run.

On the way, the ground began to split open, and many trestles and stone sculptures fell to the ground. This scene was as if the world was ending.

Noah ran with lightning-fast speed and his body was constantly covered with the Shadow Armor. At high speed, all that could be seen was a long, black afterimage.

*Swish!* Noah quickly passed through a metal tunnel, and ahead of him was a dead-end. A thick layer of metal had completely sealed this passage.

But Noah’s expression did not vary in the least; flickering constantly, he rapped at a few points at the wall.

*Rumble rumble!* Along with a loud noise of a machine, The metal in front of Noah split open with a deafening mechanical noise, exposing a silver passage.

Written in the ancient language was a sign on one side of the tunnel that read: “Tunnel made for emergency exit, specifically for lab employees!”

Noah's lips curled up and without hesitation, he rushed through this passage. The silver passage quickly flashed past him.

Releasing his mana sense on the way, something previously unseen caught his eye. “A hidden compartment? And the map did not have a record of it? The level of secrecy of this compartment must be very high.”

Noah glanced at the passage behind him for a moment, sprinted forth, and a small door suddenly appeared on the silver wall.

The room behind the door was very narrow. It was a compartment of a few square meters in area and at its center was a very simple and mysterious ancient spell formation.

This spell model was built entirely using a black stone and on its surface were all kinds of symbols which Noah could not understand. All around this spell model were tall obelisks. Leaning on one of the obelisks was a corpse.

This corpse was wearing a black gown that was lushly and delicately embroidered. More importantly was that even after such a long time had passed the clothes still had a bright and beautiful luster.

[This was definitely a very important person.] Seeing this corpse, Noah inwardly exclaimed, before crouching down and fumbling about its clothes.

Some miscellaneous items and a torn diary made of parchment paper fell into Noah’s hands. After storing them, he immediately left the secret compartment. All of this took place in less than 30 seconds of time.

Noah tapped on another wall of the secret compartment, then he quickly ran away.

And behind him, with a rumbling noise, the secret compartment door closed and a white light was emitted throughout the entire passage. Nobody could tell he had been in there.

......

Rays of bright sunlight shone down. It was already daytime in the small town, but, because of the old witch’s potions, the populace was in a state of deep sleep.

This situation had already been discovered by the surrounding villagers and the rumors spread about very fast.

Of course, due to the fact that there were limitations in communication and the unimportance of the small town, the extent to which these rumors were spread was very small and did not attract the interest of even the Kingdom Knights.

Now, the small town gained the reputation of being a ghost town. At the end of the passage, the oil painting emitted a silvery light. Then this light turned brighter and brighter, and finally revealed the entrance of a passageway.

*Whoosh!* From this entrance emerged a black shadow. Noah used his left hand to wipe his cold sweat and turned around to see the passage to the secret plane.

"If not for the defense mechanism that the Mages of the Spirit Slaying Sect set up for in case the Gargamel lost control, I wouldn’t have been able to get away so easily...”

Although Noah was certain he wouldn't lose in a battle with a spiritual being, he actually didn't want to kill this Gargamel. Instead, he was thinking about releasing it into the world to create chaos.

The being formed from the gathering of evil souls were simply insane. They were known for their murderous nature, and that made them the best candidate for spreading chaos.

“Latent Fireball!” After looking at the entrance to the secret plane, Noah formed a big fireball and shot it at the entrance, thoroughly destroying it.

He needed to buy some time for himself to escape, otherwise the Gargamel would go after him first. This way, it would take it some time to tear out a new entrance to this world.

By then, Noah would already be long gone. Perhaps one day, he would return to this place and inspect it some more. But for now, it was time to leave for the Lidour Kingdom.

"It's time to train. Once I collect the dragon egg from Robert Donell Jr. I'll take a trip back to the Tageer Desert and practice the Thirty-Six Strikes of Zenwu and the Three Thousand Lightning Movement. Then, I should pay a visit to the Song Family...." 

With a laugh, Noah left the small town.


	142. Chapter 142

The warm summer sun shined its rays on the capital of the Lidour Kingdom. In front of the heavily guarded teleportation ring, a decorated carriage stood in front, invited envious looks from the passersbies.

The teleportation ring suddenly shined with blue light, and a middle aged man with azure blue hair came out in front of the carriage. On his finger was a ring with a crown symbol carved on its surface.

The carriage guards lightly bowed to the man and knocked on the doors of the carriage. "You're here. I expected you to come sooner." A fat young man with a bright smile on his face invited the middle aged man inside.

"I had to visit a good friend in the Brabet Kingdom and collect some things for another friend." An all too familiar voice drifted out of the middle aged man's lips, causing Robert to smile even more.

"Oh, you have friends? Is it possible for me to meet them as well?" To his inquiry, the middle aged man responded with an emotionless expression. "You'll meet one of them soon enough." 

Robert didn't ask more, instead shifting the subject onto the decorated box next to him. "The dragon egg is in here. I have to say, it was rather expensive."

Noah opened the lid of the box and looked at the black dragon egg the size of a watermelon inside. The egg looked like a black piece of stone found around volcanoes, with a powerful lingering pressure around it.

"Excellent. And have you found some ingredients which I asked for?" Robert nodded and took out a spatial ring. "There's enough for five potions inside." A smile appeared on the middle aged man's face as he stored the spatial ring.

"Are you staying or leaving again?" Robert asked. "Leaving. I'm going into a bit of secluded training, so I probably won't be out for a while." Noah replied. "How is your father?"

"Oh, let's just say he isn't feeling too good these days. He was even forced to return home for a while, hehehe." Robert's smile turned malevolent. "Good to hear. I hope you'll give me his corpse per the agreement." 

"Fine, but what for?" Robert raised his eyebrows in interest. "That will be a surprise." Noah smiled enigmatically before bidding farewell to Robert and leaving the capital again.

"He does not waste time, huh? Well, I quite like that..." Robert's voice turned icy as he informed the coachman to leave the capital. He had to get busy as well.

.......

Six months passed by in a flash. In the underground cave not far from Rock Desert City, the amount of hot Fire Element particles was slowly drying up, although the amount was barely noticeable. 

"Haah haah..." Noah stood in a nearby crude stone room he carved out for himself. Right now, he appeared to be in slow motion as he practiced a single movement over and over again.

Slowly, he would place his hands in front, as if grabbing a hilt of a sword with both hands, subsequently raising it above his head and swinging it down to the ground. He would repeat this practice for a few hours, until he felt his hands shake.

At the same time as Noah moved, the magic circles on the walls were used to circulate the Fire Element particles into the small room around Noah, allowing him to absorb them with less difficulty.

As Noah practiced, his mind was almost empty, allowing him to use his meditation technique and absorb a greater amount of Fire Element particles than an ordinary Mage or Warrior.

After finishing his training, Noah woke up from his trance and wiped the sweat off his face. He looked at his shaking and fatigued arm and a smile flashed across his face.

"Thirty-Six Strikes of Zenwu, 1st form, Fire Hammer." Between his fingers, a flame appeared and quickly grew into a physical form of a hammer. 

Noah's fingers tightened on the hammer's hilt, and he could feel the terrifying power of condensed Fire Element particles. "Amazing..." 

Seeing this, Noah was certain that if he directly struck a Mage with this attack, its might would be as strong or stronger than an artifact. It might be possible to instantly kill an Officer Rank Mage.

There was only one downside, and it was that it took 15% of his mana in one go. Using this move too much would drain him too quickly in a real fight. It's best to save it as a sort of trump card. 

"It took me six months, and now it's complete. I wonder, why didn't Queen Medusa call me?" Noah dispelled the Fire Hammer in his hand and looked at the small seven-colored snake, still coiled around his arm.

He inquired a few times in his mind, but seeing that there was no reaction, he didn't continue, instead leaving the small stone room and going inside the tunnel that served as an exit to the crypt.

In the tunnel was another passage, carved out by Noah himself. It was completely dark, and spread out for entire kilometers in multiple directions. 

Since Noah couldn't just run around in the desert, he had to create space for him to do so underground. Thus, the end result is a small web of tunnels deep under the ground.

Exhaling once more, Noah started running, emptying his mind once again in the process. He would dash ahead for dozens of kilometres to the north before changing directions to face the west.

Occasionally, he would slam into a wall or stumble and fall, but it didn't affect him in any way. The only thing that would stop him was physical exhaustion, something that never lasted for a long time. After recovering his energy, he would continue to run again.

More days passed with nothing happening. Noah was still running in a trance. Today however, something new happened. As Noah was running, he suddenly appeared 3 meters in front of where he should've been.

The odd state continued as Noah's appearance remained muddled, appearing back at his original position, 3 meters behind. It was as if he had never appeared in front.

This bizarre situation occurred once more later on. It was similar to him blinking back and forth. Noah stopped once he was tired. A smile was shining on his lips. "I can feel it. After six months, I finally grasped the movements..." 

Exhaling profusely, Noah took out some water bottles and dried jerky and satisfied his hunger and thirst. After resting for a while, he again stood up and continued running.

.......

"God, is it boring here. Who would've known that counting bubbles was so uninteresting?" Niolo was currently flying around the crypt aimlessly. 

In order to relieve his boredom, he began counting bubbles that formed on the lava.

"If only Noah would've let me eat that Gargamel thing, something like that must taste heavenly...." He grumbled to himself as he flew around. "I can't believe I missed such a delicious treat!" 

Suddenly, as Niolo was despairing to himself, a small floating ball caught his eye. It was red and shiny, and it flew around the crypt like a speck of dust. "An Elemental Spirit?" Niolo was a little taken aback.

Pursing his lips, he sucked the small red dot into his mouth. Although it tried resisting, the small dot couldn't do anything as a General Rank Demon sucked it up.

"It's indeed an Elemental Spirit of the Fire attribute. But the taste is only so-so..." Releasing his mana sense outside, Niolo noticed that there were more Elemental Spirits in the crypt.

In fact, there were over a thousand of them. All of them were the same as the one before, small red dots that moved along slowly. 

Among them were also a hundred new Elemental Spirits that looked like small balls the size of a fist, with small eyes and two smaller balls as hands. They looked really cute as they floated around and produced sounds of happiness.

"A hundred low grade Fire Element Spirits... I better report this to Noah." Niolo flew quickly to one of the tunnels in which Noah was now sitting in, resting and eating.

"Niolo, why are you here?" Noah looked up at the demon soul in front of him that now had an uneasy expression on Its face. "Noah my friend, I'm afraid we have guests. About a thousand Elemental Spirits."

"What?" Noah's eyes widened. Previously, when he was searching for the Heavenly Flame, Noah noticed that there were no Fire Element Spirits in the crypt before, as the place was flooded with the Fire Element particles.

[Since they're appearing now, it was probably because they felt threatened by the Heavenly Flame. Now that they realized that it's gone, they've come to occupy the crypt.] Noah's brows furrowed.

"Niolo, enjoy your meal, and rid us of these vermin." Noah spoke in a very cold voice. To him, who needed Fire Element particles to practice his technique, Elemental Spirits really were vermin.

When Elemental Spirits find an area rich in Elemental particles, they occupy the place with huge numbers before slowly turning the area into its own separate space, isolating it from the outside world.

These places are called Fairylands, and they are the primary homes of Elemental Spirits. Occasionally, individuals with a very developed 7th sense can stumble upon these Fairylands and attain blessings from the Spirits.

Noah disliked Elemental Spirits quite a bit. He already considered this crypt his possession, and now someone else wanted to take it away from him. There's no way that Noah would allow that, at least until the crypt becomes useless to him.

Wanting to check on the situation, Noah released his mana sense. However, a few moments later, his jaw dropped in utter shock. "..." He couldn't utter a single word.

His mana sense... the same Sovereign Rank mana sense that could cover a maximum of two kilometers... that mana sense was now covering a distance of two kilometers and one meter!!!

Even the usually calm Noah was completely flabbergasted, and needed some time to recover. The amount of shock he experienced was the same when he found out the existence of the Evil God and his bloodline.

"I cannot believe this... There exists no artifact or technique that allows mana senses to extend in range, it's impossible. How..." Noah's mind began working on a speed faster than even before.

Finally, a realization hit him. "That's it! The two lotus flowers!" The two lotus flowers that remained behind after Callum's death. Noah previously had no idea what the flowers did, as he had never seen them before.

But now, it appears that their value was so great that it was impossible to measure. "So that's how Callum could purify Middle Grade ingredients. It wasn't that he relied on his genius, he actually did have a mana sense, but it was only one meter in diameter!"

Noah now also realized something. Callum left his home and arrived at the capital one year later. 

That meant that the reason why Noah was unable to immediately see the results of the lotus flowers was because they needed a year to show their effect!

"Hahahah, I must thank you, Callum. The gift you left behind for me, I will use it well!" Noah was very happy at this unexpected benefit. But there was one thing he didn't understand.

Did the two lotus flowers only increase his mana sense diameter, or did it increase two things? "Hm..." To try out his theory, Noah cut his palm. Blood began dripping down his fist and onto the floor.

Noah looked at his wound, observing the speed of his body's regeneration. Indeed, he could see that his wound was closing a bit faster than before. It was barely noticeable, but it made Noah smile.

"So it increases my body's regeneration as well. Fascinating." Deciding that there were enough surprises for today, Noah returned to the stone room and sat on the stone floor.

At the same time, Niolo laughed sadistically at the small cute looking Elemental Spirits who were desperately trying to run away from him. After chasing them around for a while, he sucked them up and devoured them. 

Noah took out a piece of a green metal out of his spatial ring and told Niolo not to disturb him. Then, he inserted his mana sense into the piece and felt his soul being dragged out of his body. It was time to revisit the memory from this piece of metal.


	143. Chapter 143

Opening his eyes, Noah once again found himself in the strange city from before. The events he already saw played in front of him again, from the sudden rebellion of the metal men, to the demonic invasion that resulted in chaos.

The scenery now changed to something Noah previously didn't see. It was a humongous battle between five Demons and ten Mages of different races.

There were Dwarves, Elves, Humans, and a few others which Noah didn't recognize. There was only one similarity between all of them: they were all Magistrate Rank Mages. 

The weapons they held and the suits that the Mages were dressed in looked weird. All of them were wearing strange metal armors that would occasionally transform, shielding the Mages from the Demon's attacks.

[Impressive. All of those armors have to be Magistrate Rank artifacts.] The battle raged on, and the surrounding terrain was completely destroyed. 

Mountains were flattered, forests burned to ash, the ground was littered with craters, showing the terrifying destructive might of a battle of this scale. And these Mages weren't even using their innate spells.

The scenery flashed, and the battle was over. The Demons were forced to retreat into their portal, while the Mages suffered three deaths and multiple injuries.

The scenery flashed again, and this time, the cities around the world seemed to be celebrating, presumably about the end of the invasion. 

Noah now found himself in another great city, many times bigger than the previous one, and many times grander. He saw many citizens celebrate the occasion outside, creating a river of people.

On the sides of the buildings were flat monitors that displayed some kind of unknown language, but Noah believed that it was transmitting the news of the victory over the Demons.

Suddenly, the screens went black, and all the lights in the city turned off. Not giving the people on the streets any time to digest what just happened, a new wall of text appeared on the monitors, and the people's expressions changed drastically.

Noah really regretted not being able to read this language. Just then, the streets throughout the city began showing cracks like eggshells. The ground lightly raised up before exploding.

Noah's eyes suddenly constricted as he saw something he recognized. Among the many metal men that jumped out of the dust at the citizens, there were women dressed in skin tight uniforms among them!

A horrible slaughter ensued, but Noah didn't care. What he was focusing on were the strangely dressed women. They wore black revealing outfits that barely covered their feminine parts. 

All of them, without exception, had snow white hair, and their eyes and foreheads were covered by a red circular visor with a black outline, leaving only their noses and mouths visible.

Their legs and arms were the only places covered by armor, and in their hands they held many different weapons. Noah recognized them immediately.

"These are Daughters! The minions of the Second Great Calamity!" Noah's forehead was drenched in sweat, but he didn't notice it. 

"So this is the Era where the Second Calamity originated from...." Mumbling to himself, Noah continued looking at the slaughter on the streets of the city. The scenery flashed again, and this time, Noah was somewhere dark.

Looking around, he could confirm that he was in a place reminiscent of a laboratory. Also this time, he noticed that he was able to hear. What he heard where hurried footsteps outside of the laboratory.

The footsteps stopped, and the metal doors slid upwards as blinding light shined in the laboratory. Noah seemed to be shorter now, and he couldn't look around freely, only forward. He also noticed that his point of view was cracked.

He was evidently either a cracked mirror or something like those monitors from before. Right now, a young woman in a white robe ran inside the laboratory. 

She had thick round glasses on her nose that constantly tried to fall off, and her forehead was covered in sweat.

She hurried over to Noah and began pressing something. Noah could hear the sounds of her fingers thumping on something quickly, but he didn't know what it was.

After a few seconds passed, the woman raised her head and looked straight at Noah. "This is Is.... from the Lavender Re.... ...ry. This is important, so I will keep it sh..." 

[I can understand her language?] Noah was a bit taken aback, but he realized that it was probably due to the green metal piece that showed him the memory. It must've had something to pass on to him, like an inheritance.

The only problem was that the woman's words were often interrupted by silence. What she was talking to was evidently not working too well.

"The outside world is in chaos. The Dau.... ... destroying everything, kill.... ...one. Our grand proj.... horrible. The process of int.... machine spirit w... ure. It's been corrupted."

The woman's voice was trembling, she was evidently greatly scared and shaken. "The dem... ...ion probably left.... ...er corr... particles which s... fu.... with the Luxuria. The machine s.... ...ed into something h...."

By the end of her sentence, Noah could see tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I failed. No, we failed." She spoke with a heavy voice. "I ...ve this ...... ...ast hope of fixing ....."

"We man... to seal the L.... Search for t.....er M...." The silence grew especially long at the end. Noah could only hear the woman's final words. "I'm sorry. Please forgive us."

Then, Noah felt his soul violently detach from the memory of the metal piece. As he awoke in the real world, to his surprise, the green metal piece suddenly began showing cracks all over, as if it was about to burst.

*Pop!* With a popping noise, the green metal piece actually broke apart. "Hm?!" Noah saw something on his palm, amidst the metal pieces. It was a small thin card in the shape of a circle.

Its surface was silver in color, and it gave off a weird shine. In the middle was a small red circle, looking very similar to the visors on the Daughters' faces. *Thump! Thump!* 

Noah stared motionlessly at the small card in his palm. His heartbeat was quickening. "Ahh, that was a meal. Not too good in taste, but I guess I can't complain, eh Noah my friend?" 

Niolo flew over with a satisfied expression, which immediately after changed as a shiver ran through him. "Noah... my friend?" 

Noah looked motionless, but on his face was an incomparably malicious smile that made even a Demon like Niolo shiver.

"Even though I said that it was enough surprises for the day..." Noah carefully stored the card into his spatial ring and stood up. "... Niolo, what are you doing?" 

The demon soul was now hiding behind a stone wall as it looked at Noah fearfully. "Looks like you came to your senses, Noah my friend. Anyway, I'm just going to sleep, don't mind me...."

Under Noah's confused look, Niolo entered the demonic spellbook in silence. Noah didn't pay attention to him anymore as he began walking in circles, deep in thought.

[What that woman was saying, and the appearance of Daughters... That Era was definitely the time the Second Calamity originated from...] While thinking, Noah traced his finger across his chest.

In his past life, he accidentally ran into one of the Daughters while he was a Officer Rank Mage. 

Just as he was about to die, an Elder from his organization intervened and began fighting the Daughter, allowing Noah to escape with his life.

The Daughter left a horrible scar across his chest, one that he carried forever. It was just one of many times Noah almost died. 

[The Second Calamity, or should I call it Luxuria now, will appear hundred and eighty years in the future, first devastating the Forbidden Lands...] 

"The Calamity" was a name given to seven horrible events that will leave lasting damage on the continent.

They are events whose origins are unknown and their appearance sudden, but only one thing was certain; they left behind nothing but death and suffering.

The Second Calamity in particular was among the most horrible. It appeared out of nowhere, spreading throughout the Forbidden Lands, destroying around 40% of the total area.

In the end, it heavily damaged the Kitteothia Kingdom, killing the entire Court Mage Order, and even killing the Magistrate Rank Mages sent after it. 

Its power grew over time, and to destroy it, all of the Sovereigns had to join their powers together. From this, one could see just how overwhelming its power was!

Noah thought back to the incomplete "er" and "M". It obviously stood for a name of some place, but he did not know what it was. Not to mention that in this Era the name may be completely different by now. 

There were many questions in Noah's mind, but he also received some answers. From what he understood, Luxuria wasn't intended to be a weapon of mass destruction, but was corrupted by the remaining demonic particles.

"Still, that woman mentioned a machine spirit. Does that mean that the people of that Era managed to create artificial spirits?" Such a thing was unthinkable in this day and age, which made it all the more interesting for Noah.

There was, however, one problem left: the passive state of the World Will. Even if the World Will has to go into slumber for a decade after every three years of being awake, its ability of rejecting beings from an immaterial plane should always be in effect.

This was what Noah learned from the Sovereigns in his past life. So the question remains, why didn't the World Will defend the world from a demonic invasion? [This is all too weird. The World Will is behaving differently than in my past life, as well...]

Noah frowned, but decided to give up on the question as he had no information yet. He could only sigh and continue to train on his Three Thousand Lightning Movement. 

"I should still have a month until the gathering at the Song Family, I might as well just use the time to practice. I also have to take a look at this "er M" that the woman mentioned." 

Noah decided. In this life, he would definitely get to the bottom of things. He now had a kind of connection to the Second Calamity known as Luxuria, and he was planning to use it for his benefit.


	144. Chapter 144

The Song Family was one the top noble families on the continent, and was somewhat isolated in its position. It had a history stretching back tens of thousands of years, all of it closely intertwined with the Royal Family of the Kitteothia Kingdom.

The Song Family was deeply rooted in the Kitteothia Kingdom, as it originated from there, and for that reason the main headquarters of the family were positioned there.

The headquarters existed on the edge of a wide plain which contained some rolling hills, but few mountains.

In the southeast of the plain, however, was a mountain range, under which flowed a river. If one looked down on it from the sky, they would notice that it had the appearance of a woman resting her head on her arm. It was quite pretty and charming.

The Song Family was situated atop the chain of mountains. Its main gate was an ancient fortress, connected to which was an enormous wall that snaked throughout the various surrounding mountains, creating a very spectacular sight.

The Song Family, being a top family, was naturally huge in size. For that reason, the entire mountain range was populated with the Song Family members, amounting to eighty one smaller cities and one capital city.

The capital city was reserved for the main branch of the family, while the smaller cities belonged to the secondary branches.

Every city was under protection of at least one General Rank Mage. In the capital city was also a rarely seen building: a Mage Tower. Everyone who looked at this Mage Tower would bow their head in respect.

This was a place that belonged to the one and only Magistrate Rank Mage of the Song Family, and was their strongest asset. From this it could be seen that the Song Family was not to be trifled with by anyone.

In the sky above the Song Family was an enormous rotating Sun and Moon. When it was pitch black in the outside world, the sun blazed in the Song Family. When it was bright and sunny outside, the moon shone in the Song Family.

This Sun and Moon was a Magistrate Rank artifact used by the ancestor of the family, and that, coupled with the Mage Tower, made it impossible for anyone to harm the Song Family, unless they had three or more Magistrate Rank Mages.

At this moment within the Song Family's capital city, dazzling lights flickered and people bustled about preparing for an ancient tradition of the family.

Meanwhile, outside of the Song Family, on the plains under the chain of mountains, the representatives of many forces were standing in front of the ancient fortress, glancing at the beautiful scenery in front of them.

The sight of a moon and night existing above the Song Family made everyone let out a gasp of admiration. 

Then, once they were given permission, they would follow behind a Song Family Elder through the gate and towards the capital city of the Song Family.

This was a regular sight today. Any young man who was at least a Paragon Rank Mage and was handsome was allowed to join the Song Family gathering. 

Right now, an Elder of the Song Family was standing in front of the gate, awaiting new candidates from other forces, when suddenly, a young man appeared in his sight.

As the Elder looked closer at the young man, he gasped; this young man in front of him was incredibly handsome! 

Pitch black hair that reached his waist, youthful facial features, and the most impactful of all, jet black eyes that seem to contain the abyss itself inside them.

The young man respectfully bowed to the Elder and opened his mouth. "My respects to the Song Family, I have arrived here for the marriage arrangement." 

The Elder looked at the young man in front of him in awe; his voice seemed like a gentle song, making the Elder feel like he was in a presence of a poet. "Young man, you came here to participate in the marriage arrangement?"

"Indeed. I just hope that I'm not late." The young man answered. Clearing his throat, the Elder woke himself from his astonishment and led the way through the gate.

"Young friend, what should this old man adress you?" Hearing the question, the young man answered. "I am called Noah." With a nod, the old Elder fell in deep thought as he thought about the origins of this youth. 

At the same time, Noah looked around in silence. This was a first time he had seen the full power of the Song Family in his life, and he was again reminded that the top noble families were truly on the next level.

Noah followed the Elder as he climbed a stone staircase all the way up the mountain. He had to admit that the view from this height was amazing. The moon that hung above the mountains only added to the overall beauty of this place.

While they were walking, the two of them made some small talk among themselves. The Elder was using the chance to inspect Noah's personality. 

Noah always answered respectfully and didn't show signs of arrogance, making the Elder look at him with approval. He looked even more satisfied when he heard that Noah was a rogue Mage without enemies.

They soon reached the capital city. Within the capital city was an enormous square. Already, many Ranked Mages from outside the Song Family had arrived there. 

There were elites of many big forces and noble families present, and even a prince of the Royal Family arrived. The place was alive with activity, and the hubbub of conversations filled the air.

Many youngsters already took the chance to flatter to the more influential and powerful ones among themselves, trying to build better relationships between them.

There was especially a crowd surrounding the prince. "Your Highness, congratulations on your breakthrough. You're truly a genius!" The prince, a blonde short haired man simply smiled humbly, but didn't say anything, inviting more praises from others.

"Yes yes, His Highness is truly a man amongst men. No one in Kitteothia Kingdom is your equal!"

"What do you mean, it's not just in the kingdom, but in the world!" 

"His Highness is sure to win this competition!" 

Many nobles competed among themselves to see who could flatter the prince more. The representatives from the other top noble families simply shot over a disgusted glance before looking away.

"Hmph, what talent, he just used that new potion, Grine Water, to advance easily..." One of them even quietly voiced out everyone's thoughts, although it was just loud enough for the prince to hear, causing his expression to darken.

But he couldn't compare to those true geniuses from the top noble families, so he just pretended not to hear them.

"Speaking of Grine Water..." One of the young men from the top families turned his head. "Looks like our friend Jonas was blessed with good luck, having such an excellent Alchemist join your family..."

"Haha, it's nothing much..." A youth with yellow hair replied back. He was a member of the Primer Family, and the second strongest of the younger generation of the Primer Family.

......

At the same time as the young men were talking to each other, in a room of the majestic castle of the Song Family, a young girl stood quietly at the window, looking out. 

The outside world was awash with sunlight, but inside the Song Family, the sky was dark. Wind blew against her face, lifting up her hair and revealing her spectacular beauty. Right now, she wore a sad look and seemed to be apprehensive.

Her apprehension was because of her fate as a woman of the Song Family. She felt melancholy for the same reason. 

There was nothing she could do to resist; it was useless to struggle. The Song Family’s rules had been laid down for the betterment of the family, and could not be changed.

The soft voice of a woman could be heard from behind her. “We’re different from the other families. As a girl of the Song Family, it’s impossible to maintain your purity forever. You can’t change that, nor can I.” The voice belonged to a middle-aged woman who gazed affectionately at the girl.

The girl didn’t reply. After a while, though, she nodded. “Perhaps it’s just my fate.” Her face filled with exhaustion. The exhaustion did not ruin her good looks; in fact, it seemed to give birth to a tender beauty.

The woman behind her could sense what she was feeling. She stepped forward and stroked the girl’s long, brown hair. “It is fate." she said. “But it’s not destiny, it’s a mission. A mission from the Song Family of the Kitteothia Kingdom."

The Mother and daughter were silent for a while after that.

......

Noah arrived at the square behind the Elder. Looking around, he could see many different young men from various families and forces, all of them geniuses of their generation. 

He strode over to a lone corner and stood there motionlessly. His appearance bewildered a lot of the young men present. Fierce murmurs immediately erupted among them.

"Hey, who is that? I've never seen him before."

"W-wow, what are those looks? I feel ugly now..."

"Is he a genius from some strong faction?" 

"I don't know. But seeing how young he is, I guess?"

"That's impossible, he has no guardian with him. He has to be a rogue Mage."

The murmurs also caught the attention of the top geniuses. " Oh, who is that? I've never seen him before. Penny for your thoughts, Jonas?" 

A smiling silver haired man with glasses looked at Jonas, trying to get some kind of answer. "Marol, it's useless to ask me. I have seen a lot of people in my life, but never someone like this..."

Since Jonas was a member of a merchant family, it was natural that he knew many people of the younger generation. If he said that he didn't know, then Marol really had no idea who could.

"What do you think, Cedric?" Marol turned to a tall youth with long and wavy black hair. He had a sword by his waist, and it made him have a presence of a heroic person.

Seeing Cedric's black hair, Marol noticed that it was still a bit different than the mysterious youth's hair. If Cedric's hair was the color of ink, then the youth's hair was the color of darkness itself. He found it rather weird.

"He's strong." Cedric's words woke up Marol from his thoughts. "Really? How strong?" He asked. "I'm not confident in winning against him. It's just a feeling I have." Cedric answered stoically.

"Oh." Marol eyed the mysterious youth. [For Cedric to say that, is he an Officer Rank Mage? No that's impossible, he's too young. Perhaps he's about to breakthrough?] 

As the younger generation waited on the square, the sound of bells rang out, filling the capital city. Suddenly, multicolored beams of light filled the sky. The entire Song Family passed from night into morning.

As the change occurred, the mana in the Song Family suddenly grew thicker. However, other than the members of the Song Family, no one would be able to absorb it for advancement. That is, no one but one person.

[How refreshing...] Noah merely emptied his mind a little and already, a huge amount of mana was absorbed by him thanks to his meditation technique. 

The bells rang out for the second time, and the moon and sun alternated their positions. As day and night mixed together, a colorful glow appeared in the air. 

At the same time, the gate of the Song Family castle opened, and three men walked out, bringing everyone's attention to them.

They were all General Ranks, and they radiated fearsome power. A middle aged man with a monocle and a goatee opened his mouth.

"I am so grateful that all of you could join the Song Family in our search for a son-in-law! Please, let’s begin!” With a hearty laugh, he clapped his hands, and something unexpected happened.

With mechanical noises, the square detached from the ground and flew up into the air! At the same time, the square seemed to have transformed into a celestial paradise surrounded by fake clouds.

Maidservants appeared, their features indistinct, but their figures graceful. They danced and flew about as they reverently placed alcohol and various delicacies onto the tables.

The sound of wind, flowing waters, and birdcalls filled the air. It all seemed extremely graceful and elegant. The youngsters were in awe at this development. Some people looked around, others stared at the maidservants.

The representatives of the various forces and families broke out in smiles and words of admiration. "Patriarch Song, this is truly an amazing display. The youngsters are so shocked they forgot to sit, hahaha!"

The patriarch of the Song Family laughed and then sat down by the table, followed by the two men on his side. The others didn't dare remain standing, and quickly ushered the young men to follow as well.

Some time passed, and an azure light suddenly flashed on the flying platform. From within its midst emerged two people, one man and one woman. The man was handsome, tall and slender, with eyes red like blood.

He wore a white robe and had long silver hair that gave him a sort of demonic beauty. He smiled toward everyone and raised bowed to the representatives.

"It's the Song Family's number one genius, Audi Song!" 

"I finally see him with my own eyes. Such a stunning young man, no wonder the Song Family is so proud of him!"

“The girl next to him is lady Mia. She’s the girl the Song Family is finding a husband for.”

Noah opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the man and woman as they walked out from the azure-colored glow. Mia was petite and delicate. 

She had long brown hair and fair skin. She exuded a gentle femininity, and had beautiful, green eyes, like two emeralds. Many young men already felt captivated by her looks.

Even the top geniuses didn't feel indifferent. Mia looked out at the crowd. The instant Noah looked in her direction, their gazes locked for a moment.

The patriarch of the Song Family laughed and called out. "The hour has arrived! Heroes and talented individuals of the various sects and families, welcome to the Song Family. With the exception of those here to observe, all of you are here for the same reason. I won’t waste time with further explanations.” 

Even as his voice echoed out, he waved his right hand, and the clouds up ahead began to churn. In the blink of an eye, a massive vortex appeared, beyond which a strange world could be seen.

Within this world was a vast sea, in the middle of which was an enormous tree that rose up into the sky. The colossal tree was taller than even a mountain.

Thick vines wrapped around its trunk, snaking up with it toward the skies.

The trunk was enormously large. At its top, limbs stretched out to form a shape almost like a mushroom. Vines hung down, some of them even reaching down into the sea. A wild wind whipped across the waters, giving rise to seething waves.

Up above in the sky, black clouds billowed, and lightning crashed. The sound of thunder echoed out. Everyone let out awed gasps, making the Song Family members feel pride.

“At the top of this tree is the Cubic Pearl. Whoever is the first to acquire the pearl, will be the newest son-in-law of this generation of the Song Family!” He looked out across the crowd, and then at Mia. His eyes glowed with the love of a father towards his daughter.

[Finally...] Noah stopped absorbing the mana in his surroundings and looked at the patriarch. This was the reason he was here. The Cubic Pearl.

A one of a kind magic ingredient capable of curing any poison in existence for five times. In Noah's past life, when the Song Family was crippled by the Second Calamity Luxuria, they exchanged this item for the protection of the Poison Emperor to preserve themselves.

This item was so precious that Noah even had to use his Evil God appearance to get it, as he did not want to ruin his true identity as the Alchemist Noah. It was just a shame that the Song Family only accepts exceptionally handsome candidates.

With a sigh, Noah joined the other candidates as they jumped into the vortex. 

“The Song Family's search for a son-in-law is a trial by fire." said the Song Family patriarch. “We don’t want a bloody spectacle. If anyone feels the danger has become too extreme, you can forfeit with a single word and be instantly teleported out.” 

His words echoed out across the sea. At the sound of his words the wind suddenly lessened, as if it didn’t dare to interfere.


	145. Chapter 145

Monstrous waves rolled across the surface of the sea, propelled by the screaming wind. It threatened to blow away all of the approaching Mages, making it incredibly difficult to even reach the gigantic tree.

Compared to the tree, they were like ants, tiny to the extreme. Noah looked down at the waters and his eyes narrowed. Beneath the massive waves, dark shadows could be seen swimming to and fro. 

The top geniuses quickly pulled out various flight type artifacts and suspended themselves in the air. Noah, along with the rest of the Mages, fell into the water.

"Is this it? It can't possibly be that simple, can it?" Jonas asked with confusion. "Obviously not. Do you see those winds over there? They'd tear us to pieces of we try to fly closer." Cedric answered.

It was impossible to fly very high in this place, because the wind speed increased with altitude. Cedric felt fear while looking at the winds near the top of the tree.

The wind seemed as if it were filled with sharp blades, as well as a hard-to-describe pressure that made the three thousand meter area around the tree seem like a wall.

Noah was now swimming as fast as he could in the sea water. With his mana sense, he could clearly see many small aquatic monsters that tried to nibble on the clothes of the surrounding candidates. 

It appeared that the Song Family patriarch was indeed telling the truth; they didn't want a bloodbath. When Noah entered the area, he felt the intense pressure pushing against him, although to him it wasn't a problem.

The closer he got to the tree, the thicker the mana in the air got. Of course, he could absorb it, and the closer he got, the more quickly he did so. His eyes shone brightly.

He looked up at the enormous tree in front of him, which stretched thousands of meters up into the sky. "Could this tree be the same as the World Tree?” He could sense that the mana in the place was produced by the gigantic tree.

As all the candidates struggled their way toward the tree, up above the clouds in the sky, the members of the various forces watched on through the cloud vortex, eyes glittering.

They could see everything quite clearly. “Of all the heroes and chosen of the various sects and families that have come today, I wonder who will be the first to reach the tree?” The Song Family patriarch smiled.

“I’m afraid it’s difficult to say. I never imagined that the Song Family's search for a son-in-law would involve this treasured painting...”

“This tree must have been summoned by a will shard from the ancient World Tree. It was clearly painted by the ancient artist Dominic Long when he gained enlightenment at the legendary location in which the World Tree resided."

"It is said that with sufficient enlightenment, the tree itself can be summoned. This is truly a precious treasure capable of summoning that which is ancient.”

A Mage from one of the organizations looked on in awe. “The World Tree’s will shard is capable of releasing its own mana. Unfortunately, it's useless to us Mages. But still, I'm surprised that such a treasure was here."

“This tree is indeed a will shard of the World Tree. The painting is entitled Ancient Will of the World Tree. It was gifted to my ancestor long ago by Dominic Long himself! I've kept it ever since." The Song Family patriarch shook his head.

"But I do not intend to hold onto it for long. I intend to give this painting as a gift to whoever is the next son-in-law of this generation of the Song Family." Hearing his proclamation, the eyes of the surrounding Mages shined brightly.

As the people above observed, the dozens of candidates down by the enormous tree continued to forge ahead. Because of the pressure pushing against them, they couldn’t move very quickly. But they continued forward nonetheless.

At the moment, the fastest of the group was Cedric with Noah close behind him. He moved very carefully but quickly, avoiding the dangerous gusts of wind. [This pressure, it's like I'm moving through sticky mud.]

Even someone like him was feeling troubled with the pressure. This caused him to shoot Noah a respectful glance, seeing as how the latter also needed to swim, and yet was still keeping up with him.

"Oh man, what are those two? I didn't expect that the difference between us was this great..." Jonas sighed in low spirits. Cedric and this new mysterious youth were slowly getting in front of everyone else.

This naturally invited many interested glances from the spectators. "Interesting, not only is he dealing with the pressure, but he also isn't losing to a flying artifact in speed." The Song Family patriarch looked at Noah with interest.

To him, it was a much more impressive feat to swim to the tree than to fly towards it. Both candidates had their own problems to deal with, but Noah also had to deal with the small monsters in the water.

The other Mages also began getting interested in the two of them. "Isn't that Cedric from the Shurland Family, one of the top noble families?" 

"Yes, I heard that he's just about to advance to Officer Rank, and he's only twenty five years old!"

"That's impressive! He'll certainly grow up into a prominent figure in the future, just like his brother!"

"But who is that black haired youth? I've never heard of someone with that appearance, otherwise I wouldn't forget him..."

As the Mages talked among each other, Audi and Mia also looked at the two of them. Audi especially looked on with anticipation in his eyes.

.......

An hour passed, and both Cedric and Noah were now mere thirty meters away from the base of the huge tree. Between the two of them, Cedric was a little closer, but he was suddenly blown back by the wind.

"Ah, I got too excited..." He smiled wryly before continuing. Over time, he grew more and more surprised at this youth under him. How was he able to keep up with him so much with no problem?

At the same time, Noah was swimming like a dolphin, with such speed that those small aquatic monsters just couldn't keep up. Finally, after another half an hour, he was the first to step into the tree.

The other candidates closed in. Twenty seconds after him, Cedric also arrived, followed by Jonas and Marol. They, of course, could not absorb the mana of this place, and therefore had no way to replenish their lost mana.

There is no need to even mention how difficult it was for them to proceed forward. On the other hand, Noah was like a fish in water. In an instant, he was already three hundred meters away from them.

After observing this, the eyes of the spectators shone with a strange glow. This was especially true of the Song Family patriarch. His eyes glittered brightly as he watched the cloud vortex and Noah.

"Impressive, this youth is really talented. I dare say that he's even comparable to young Cedric."

"Hmph, he only arrived faster because Cedric was pushed back once. It's not such a big achievement."

Some Mages began arguing among themselves. Right now, Cedric felt his veins pop on his forehead. He was on the tree now, proceeding up. 

The mana in the area pushed against him, and he had no way to absorb it whatsoever. The wind whipped about, but he forged on without stopping. He knew that if he were knocked off the tree, then he would have to start over from the very bottom.

Making progress was incredibly difficult, but every time he looked up and saw Noah speeding along, it would cause him to ignore the screaming wind and intense pressure and proceed on. 

"This is.... truly hard.... But I won't... quit!" Clenching his teeth, he shot upward. The wild wind buffeted him, but he held doggedly onto the tree. It felt as if his arms were about to rip off.

He was actually doing better than others. Right now, there were already over half of the candidates who couldn't endure the pressure or were too tired to continue, preferring to drop out.

"This is... hard!" Jonas held on the tree for dear life do as to not fall off. "What's... wrong, Jonas? Can't continue?" Marol shot him a provocative smile. "How about a little... competition?"

"Sure. You're on..." The two of them continued climbing as they slowly raced against each other. At the same time, Noah suddenly stopped climbing the tree. [It would be a waste not to absorb all this mana...] This was a rare opportunity for him.

Noah closed his eyes and emptied his mind completely. Right then, the mana in his surroundings coagulated around him, forming a vortex with him in the middle and rushing into his soul orb.

To his astonishment, Cedric suddenly realized that the unabsorbable mana of this place, which exhibited such strong pressure, was actually lessening around Noah. The closer he got to Noah, the easier it was to progress.

Behind him, Jonas and Marol, among others, also relentlessly pursued behind. All of them noticed Noah's sudden decrease in speed.

Noah had already sensed that although the mana in this place seemed abundant, actually, the entire place was divided into different areas. 

The mana of the area he was currently in was almost sucked dry by him. Because of that, Cedric and the others were able to move more quickly.

[Wonderful, if I were to continue at this pace, I may be able to become a peak Officer Rank Mage!] Noah was rather excited. Both his Shadow and Ice Element allowed him the performance of a peak Officer Rank Mage, but his Fire Element was still at middle Officer Rank.

If he absorbed all this mana, it would take him much less time to breakthrough to General Rank in the future! After sucking dry the mana in this area, Noah slowly climbed upwards like a bug hungry for sap. 

This development naturally couldn't escape the eyes of the spectators. “He’s swallowing up the mana produced by the World Tree!”

“What is he? What kind of absorption technique does he use to be able to do that!?”

The eyes of the Mages glittered like lightning as they watched Noah. They were shocked to the core, never having imagined that they would see something like this.

"Just who is this young man?! This is unprecedented!" 

"I heard that the various sects in the Forbidden Lands practice various absorption techniques that allow them to absorb the lifeforce of others. Is he from there?"

"Could be. It would explain why I never heard of this youth."

"I don't think so. Maybe he's just a disciple of an old monster, and this was his first time in the outside world?"

"Yes, yes. There's no need to immediately assume he's from the Forbidden Lands. It might insult the boy."

"I guess we'll just have to ask him them."

Every Mage was thinking the same thing; to obtain Noah's absorption technique before anyone else. Even the Song Family patriarch was beginning to think the same, and hoped that Noah would be the one to become his son-in-law.

Mia was also looking at Noah. Out of all the candidates, he was the one who gave her a biggest impression. Right now, her eyes were completely on him, ignoring the rest of the competitors.

Time passed, and Noah continued onward at a turtle's pace, and the mana continued to pour into him. Whenever it began to grow thin, he would continue on upward to a new layer.

Behind him, Cedric and the others were continuing to increase their speed. The mana having dried up, the resisting pressure was gone. The only thing they had to deal with was the raging wind. 

Their progress now was much easier, so the gap between Noah and them was slowly lessening. 

The enormous tree was many dozens of meters in diameter, and from a distance, didn’t seem very far away from the cloud layer above, where the spectators watched the proceedings. Seeing what was happening caused them to sit there quietly in contemplation.

Some of them even decided to place bets on Cedric and Noah with various stakes. 

......

Noah had passed through three layers of the enormous tree, and had now progressed roughly thirty percent up. By now, Cedric and the others were a mere thirty meters behind him. It seemed they might soon pass him.

Suddenly, Cedric roared. Employing some unknown magical technique, his body began to glow, and he shot up with incredible, explosive speed. 

In the space of a few seconds, he had progressed more than thirty meters. This caused him to pass Noah by nearly ten meters.

However, before he even had a chance to rejoice, an enormous force caused his body to tremble. The pressure caused him to cough up blood as it enveloped his body. 

Just then, Noah passed him, sucking the mana of the area into his body. The pressure began to subside. If it hadn’t, Cedric felt as if he might have been crushed down into the tree by a giant, invisible hand.

Noah's expression was the same as ever as he proceeded onward, ignoring Cedric. He passed the area that was covered with the blood Cedric had coughed up, continuing to absorb the mana. After absorbing all of it, he moved onto the next layer.

Clearly, anyone who wanted to try to pass Noah could do so by merely charging forward. However, seeing what happened to Cedric shook the hearts of all the candidates below. They stared at Noah with strange expressions. 

As of this moment, none of the pursuing candidates dared to pass Noah...

Noah continued on slowly, which gave them no other option than to do the same. Looking embarrassed and helpless, they followed behind him. 

Many of them had various plans in mind. They would wait until the very top of the tree, whereupon various techniques would explode out as they attempted to pass him!


	146. Chapter 146

Noah was aware of all of this, but didn't do anything. His expression was the same as ever as he ignored everyone else. He paused at each layer to absorb as much mana as possible, and then continued to climb upward.

Several meters behind him were all the other competitors. They eyed Noah helplessly, waiting for him to move onward before doing so themselves.

Each and every pair of eyes inside this world was watching Noah. He was the focus of all attention. Regardless of whether Noah was the winner or not, he had already left a deep impression on the Song Family patriarch and Mia. 

The patriarch especially seemed interested, and even secretly began inquiring about the mysterious youth's identity. 

Even if Noah didn't win, as long as he was a rouge Mage, the Song Family would be the first to extend an olive branch to him.

Time passed. Noah, his expression the same as always, continued onward slowly. Behind him, many of the competitors were growing impatient. 

A young man from one force looked at Noah slowly absorbing mana and frowned. Unable to accept the situation any longer, he shot forward.

He took a small badge out of his spatial ring and activated it, forming a barrier around himself. With a triumphant cry, he charged onward, passing Noah and entering the next layer beyond.

As soon as he passed Noah and entered the next area, his body began to shake. His face tightened, and blood sprayed from his mouth. 

His body trembled as if it were under attack. Everyone watched as he howled and tried to endure. Noah also stopped in his tracks for a moment, looking up and waiting.

A few minutes passed, and the young man was deathly pale as he continued vomiting blood. Even his nose and eyes began pouring blood. With a miserable scream, he fell down into the sea below. 

He emerged moments later, clearly shaken, and began to climb again. It didn’t take him long to rejoin the group of people below Noah, where he stared upward with fear and respect.

Everyone looked thoughtfully at Noah, who once again moved upward, absorbing the surrounding mana along the way. No one dared to attempt to pass him. They could only follow helplessly. 

Right now, Noah was three thousand meters away from the apex of the enormous tree. Cedric's eyes flashed, and Jonas and Marol also looked on excitedly.

It wasn’t just the competitors whose eyes glittered; up on the platform, the Mages from different forces, as well as all the Song Family members, were all focused on Noah.

Although his participation in the Song Family's search for a son-in-law had been unexpected, a critical moment was approaching. Everyone watched on with keen anticipation.

With a smile, the Song Family patriarch said. “At the top of the tree, there is a final test. Of the heroes of the various forces and families, it’s hard to say which one… will be able to pass the final test.”

“I had heard that part of the tradition of your Song Family's search for a son-in-law involves a difficult test. I’m very curious as to the nature of this test. Patriarch, would you mind explaining a bit about it?” One of the Mages opened his mouth.

“That’s right,” said another Mage. “I’ve also heard such things. Patriarch, would you mind telling us some about it? We’re all very curious.” Everyone seemed very interested in hearing about the final test.

The Song Family patriarch smiled and said. “The final test in our search for a son-in-law is a bit different than the tests in previous generations. This is a test of a person's perseverance!"

"Perseverance?" The Mages who listened looked surprised. "What do you mean, patriarch Song? Please explain."

"You see, the Song Family believes that one of the most important aspects of a Ranked Mage is determined by personality and behavior. The combination of the two, as well as a person’s stubbornness... That is perseverance." 

"Therefore, although today’s test is not conclusive, it will give us some inkling of how big it can be. Actually, as it relates to perseverance, this test is actually a choice!” Having said this much, the patriarch closed his mouth and declined to comment further.

Everyone else sank into deep thought. As for Mia, she continued to watch Noah within the cloud vortex, very curious as to what choice he would make during the final test.

Audi's eyes flickered as he calmly watched the cloud vortex. He was the biggest genius of the Song Family, and yet, as he watched Noah, an uneasy feeling welled up in his heart. 

He was used to concealing his emotions, though. His exterior was calm, but he was extremely curious to see what choice Noah would make.

[As a genius of the Song Family, I was able to take the test myself ahead of time. My choice...] Audi was lost in thought. He had only succeeded on his second try. Succeeding in such a fashion had earned him the praise of the entire family.

"Hoho, it does sound very complicated. The final test is a choice, and also a test of observation. I should make clear that the genius of our Song Family succeeded on his second attempt.” He glanced at Audi with a look of praise.

This caused everyone to grow even more curious. They all looked back down, waiting for Noah to hurry up. They also peered at the group of competitors behind him, all of whom were waiting for their chance to spring forward.

Noah suddenly began moving faster than before, giving the other competitors a surprise. He proceeded, leaving behind some of the mana and moving on to the next layer. 

He was rapidly approaching the top of the tree. Because he had left behind some of the surrounding mana, the competitors behind him suddenly encountered the resisting pressure, and had no choice but to slow down.

They trudged on desperately. However, there was now more and more distance between them and Noah. [So that's how he intends to win over against us...] Cedric felt a little dumb now at not preserving his spell for this moment.

He could only grit his teeth and pursue madly. Noah was now only fifteen hundred meters from the top of the tree.

One thousand meters. Five hundred meters. Two hundred fifty meters… One hundred fifty. Fifty…. Noah leaped up, surpassing the final gap to stand on top of the tree.

At this moment, the Song Family patriarch and Audi both stared at Noah. In fact, without exception, all of the Song Family members on the platform were looking at him.

The attention of all the Mages was also firmly locked on him. Everyone wondered, what was this test of perseverance?

The competitors from the various forces and families, regardless of their frustration or helplessness, regardless of what thoughts were running through their heads, were looking up.

Atop the tree, at the pinnacle of this world, Noah stood alone, the focus of everyone present. As soon as he stepped foot on the top of the tree, he felt the boundless mana in the area rushing toward him.

Far below the top of the tree, the massive sea seemed smaller; now it looked like a mirror.

Beyond the edges of the mirror, was nothingness…. This world was not limitless. In fact, in the midst of the nothingness could be seen what appeared to be handwriting, floating there faintly.

"The ancient will of the World Tree; respect its strength, remember its intentions. Painted in the spot where the World Tree once stood."

The handwriting was signed with two words: Dominic Long. "Dominic Long, I remember him. He was a famous painter a couple thousand years ago... So this is all a painting, huh..."

Noah breathed in and let all the mana around him rush inside. He was certain that this would allow him to become a peak Officer Rank Mage by the end of the competition.

Suddenly, in front of Noah, a figure appeared ahead of him. It was an old man who had the demeanor of a transcendent being. 

He wore a long, brightly decorated cloak, and it was impossible to tell exactly how old he was. He was clearly ancient, although was impossible to tell how many countless ages he had lived.

The old man looked at Noah, his face calm but strangely appearing kind natured, like the old man was completely harmless to anyone.

The old man spoke, his voice cool. "Young man, I can see that you are exceptional. I have long been waiting; will you be the one to free me from my duty?" His words floated out gently, much the same as his hair floated gently around his body.

"This place does not belong to the world nor the Void, it is a place created by myself. This painting contains my endlessly flowing perseverance; will you see it, or not? Select a path upon which to approach me."

Suddenly, nine snaking paths appeared among the twisted leaves of the tree’s crown. They all led toward the old man, who stood only a few hundred meters up ahead.

Each path led to the same destination: the old man.

The old man lifted his hand. There between his fingers was a thumb-sized pearl. “Select a path upon which to approach me, and then take the pearl. Choose wrong, and you must start over.”

The pearl was white, and seemed to contain an entire world within its depths. Looking at it, Noah noticed that it was not round. For some reason, it seemed to be the shape of a cube. It was very bizarre.

[The Cubic Pearl!] Noah looked at the pearl with excitement, before sweeping his gaze upon the paths in front of him.

[Nine paths. And I have to pick one...] he frowned. By this time, Cedric and the others were approaching. However, they weren’t able to step onto the treetop. 

It seemed that there was some invisible force that prevented more than one person from being atop the tree.

Noah noticed this, and he felt relief. It wouldn't be good if he lost right at the very end. Thinking for a while as he looked over the nine paths, Noah observed the old man as well. He had no clue how to select a path. 

He returned his gaze at the man up ahead, and then he noticed something weird. The man was holding the pearl with three fingers! 

Meanwhile, up in the cloud layer, the Mages of the various forces watched on with furrowed brows. Having seen everything that happened, they broke into discussions.


	147. Chapter 147

“Nine paths. How can one know which path to choose…? It must involve careful observation. The answer doesn’t lie in blind luck, but with that old man!”

“He is not emanating any magic fluctuations, and yet emanates a profound air. Perhaps the answer to the riddle is hidden in the words he spoke...”

“No wonder this test requires careful observation. There doesn’t seem to be any clear solution. For the Song Family's genius to have passed the test in two tries really is worthy of admiration.”

Some of the Mages again began betting among themselves. "The fourth path from the left!” One woman exclaimed.

“The fourth path from the right. That path doesn’t look special. But the leaves there are somewhat thicker. Furthermore, the old man seemed to pause slightly after every fourth word he spoke!” Another man spoke heatedly.

"Second path from the right. There are two chrysanthemums on the old man's cloak, it has to be the reason why!"

"No, it's the third path on the left. He's holding the pearl with three fingers in his left hand. It's so obvious!"

"Fifth path on the right!"

"First path on the left!

"No no, it's definitely first path on the right!"

Seeing the heated discussions and observations of the surrounding Mages, Audi's expression was placid, but in his heart, he sighed. 

He had succeeded in two tries, but in fact, it had all been a matter of luck. He actually had no idea how he had succeeded.

The Song Family patriarch laughed but said nothing. Hearing the discussions, he shook his head and fixed his attention to the top of the tree. 

“There’s no need to get anxious, friends.” He said. "To find the correct path, each person most observe matters carefully. It will all depend on their perseverance."

Down on the tree, Noah also saw many small hints that could point him to a correct path. He dismissed them, though, as he believed that they were false hints meant to trick him.

[Nine paths, choose a path to approach him... But why would he mention perseverance then? Isn't it easy to just choose a path?] Suddenly, Noah felt that he understood what the old man was talking about.

"Can you answer me one question, Dominic Long?" He spoke seriously. "Go ahead." The old man replied with a somewhat robotic voice. It was because he was a scrap of will left behind by the true Dominic Long many years prior.

"What you wish to see is my path, is that so?" The old man gently nodded. "Yes. I wish to see the path you choose for yourself, and your perseverance." Hearing this, a smile appeared on Noah's lips.

He realized what this test was now. Right now, Noah began moving in front. All the Mages on the platform up in the sky were closely watching on. Even the rest of the candidates were getting anxious.

The instant Noah shot forward, a power belonging to a peak Paragon Rank Mage burst out of him. His speed drastically increased. However... he did not pick any of the nine leafy paths. 

Instead, he jumped up into the air and... shot directly toward the gray-robed old man. In the blink of an eye, Noah completely bypassed the nine paths to appear directly in front of the old man. 

"Fireball." A crimson fireball flew out of Noah's hand and slammed into the old man, lighting him on fire. Then, Noah swung his fist, and punched the old man straight into the face!

With the punch, the Cubic Pearl flew out of the old man’s hand and into his own. The old man didn’t do anything whatsoever to stop him. 

As the fire engulfed him and the pearl was snatched away, a mysterious light appeared in his eyes, and a slight smile touched the corners of his mouth.

The old man’s archaic voice filled the air. “You obviously realized which path was the correct one to take. Why make this choice?” 

At the same time, both the candidates and the spectators on the platform were keenly observing the events. The sight filled them with shock. 

Expressions of disbelief covered their faces as they saw the gray-robed old man being engulfed in flames. It was impossible for them to miss the fact that Noah had not picked any of the paths on the treetop, but had instead chosen to kill the old man.

“He dared to attack?!”

“This… this… this guy chose not to walk one of the paths. He chose to attack?! How could this be?”

“That old man is completely unfathomable…. You can tell from a single glance that he’s beyond ordinary. This place is just too bizarre. I can’t believe he dared to attack! Dammit… how come I didn’t think of that!?!?”

Even as the candidates beneath the treetop expressed their shock, the Mages on the platform up above instantly shot to their feet, their eyes fixed upon Noah.

This was especially true of the Song Family patriarch. He gasped, and a glow of disbelief radiated from his eyes. A serious expression filled his face.

It wasn’t just him. All Song Family members, including Mia and Audi especially, also looked completely stunned for words.

Panting, Audi stared fixedly at Noah. He had participated in this test and had succeeded on the second try after picking the same path as the first time. 

However, he had never imagined that you could actually raise a hand against the gray-robed old man. “How could he do such a thing?” He said hoarsely. “That’s the Spirit of the tree...”

It was at this moment that everyone heard the old man’s question echoing out from within the flames. It was the exact same question that was running through the heads of all the observers.

Why had he chosen such a path?

"It's simple. Because to fulfill my goal I cannot allow myself to be chained down by the rules of this world." Noah replied. Every Mage in this world followed the rules set by the world in some way.

Be it the peaceful light Mages or the bloodthirsty dark Mages, they all had their own rules that they followed. These rules were restrictions placed on them by the world itself, and were meant to prevent the Mages from seeking the truth of the world.

But Noah was different. He would not comply with the rules of this world, but would instead create his own path. 

He had chosen to take the pearl by force, by slaughtering. He knew that he could succeed by choosing and persisting in treading the path laid out before him. 

However, this so-called persistence was actually just a method of following the rules; it was not true persistence. This test was a representation of that.

The Mages on the platform and the competitors looked on with amazement. This decision seemed simple at first, but they soon realized that it was not so. All of them lived lives of compliance, lives in which the rules must be followed.

Be it the rules set by the world, by the forces they worked for, or even by their parents or families. No one thought of opposing the rules, as they believed that it was natural to follow them.

But, the expressions on the Mages' faces didn't become bright, but dark. What were the rules? They were something that ensured safety for them. They were what protected this world from falling into an another Dark Era.

Everyone found comfort in them, as no one wanted to experience a terrifying event such as the Dark Era ever again. To hear that someone was going against those rules meant... that they would bring forth a catastrophe in the future!

Hearing Noah's answer, the old man’s laughter rang out from within the flames. His ancient smile was filled with happiness, as well as anticipation. 

"Yes, that was the point of this test; to determine who would blindly follow the rules, and who would throw the rules away and soar to greatness!"

The flames on the old man's body disappeared as if they were never there. The old man looked at Noah and smiled warmly. "Young man, you are who I was looking for all these years. Come! I want you to accept... my inheritance!"

These words caused bewilderment and turmoil to arise on everyone's faces, even Noah's. The one who was especially stunned silly was the Song Family patriarch. "An inheritance? What inheritance? I've never heard of such a thing in this painting..."

As if he heard the murmurs outside, the old man waved his hand lightly, and suddenly, every competitor other than Noah was teleported out of the painting. 

The competitors reappeared back on the platform and immediately tried to see what was happening with Noah.

With another wave of a hand, the old man blocked off the view from the spectators on the platform, and also isolated the sounds from the outside. No one was able to hear nor see anything inside.

"I cannot believe this, to think that this painting contained such a secret..." The Song Family patriarch smiled. Regardless of the circumstances, the youth now receiving the inheritance now belonged to his family.

He could just sit back and relax; enjoying the envious stares of all the surrounding Mages. Now isolated completely, the old man turned his attention onto Noah again.

"Young inheritor, I have heard of your reason, and I'm most satisfied by it. But you did not tell me everything. I wish to hear your perseverance. After that, you will receive my greatest work and all of my knowledge on how to reach the supreme Magistrate Rank!"

Noah laughed in return. "Dominic Long, for me, the Magistrate Rank is merely a speck of dust. In this life, I have to become a supreme Mage. I want to ascend to the peak of everything, and see the view that I did not manage to in my previous life."

"Legend says that beyond the Sovereign Rank, it is the supreme realm of godhood! It is easy to have a long life, power, influence, but to be a God, no one has ever managed to do it."

The old man's face warped in a smile. He kept nodding after every word Noah said. 

"The highest point for a lifeform is to reach godhood, their greatest desire is godhood. What is the point of wealth, it is merely a hoarding addiction." 

"What men and women, it is just primal instincts. What reputation, it is just bullshit people spew about you, carrying the stench of depravity."

"Wealth, beauty, reputation, status, people who pursue all these are short-sighted. In the secular world, there was no choice, as everyone was going to die eventually, thus they can only pursue these or life would be meaningless."

"But in our world, the world of Ranked Mages, when we are walking such a path, why would we not pursue godhood given the possibility?"

"For the sake of godhood, wealth, beauty, reputation, status, I can make use of all of them, and I can also discard them as easily!"

"For godhood, fear cannot stop me, I will charge forward relentlessly! for godhood, laziness will not stop me, I will never slack even for a moment! for godhood, pain cannot stop me, angels and demons cannot stop me, even this world cannot stop me!"

"This is my own, an insignificant Mage's, Noah Wimbeldon's — Perseverance!" As Noah affirmed his belief, his black eerie eyes seemed to burn with a scarlet red demonic blaze.

The old man was looking at Noah with immense happiness. His tears flew down his cheeks onto the leaves below his feet. "Do you see my perseverance now, Dominic Long?"

"Aahhh... Such superb perseverance, such shining, unshakable resolve in your eyes..." The old man finally completed his mission. He had found someone whose perseverance was much like his own.

"Today marks the day. I will look on at your work from whichever place I ended up in." The old man raised his hand, and a small yellow ball of light flew from his finger into Noah's forehead.

"This is..." Noah inspected the information that he received. "Use them well, inheritor." The old man now began crumbling into pieces like glass. He was disappearing. 

Noah stood still for a moment, before glancing at the spot where the old man was just a moment ago. Then, he smiled and took out a small knife.

With a slash of the knife, the air in front of him suddenly broke! Stepping into the crack in the air, Noah entered the Void, leaving behind the painting and the Song Family territory.


	148. Chapter 148

The cover that the old man put up was now gone, allowing everyone on the platform to look at the situation down below. Everyone present suddenly stopped; there was no one inside.

The mysterious youth that achieved victory and earned the Song Family woman for himself was nowhere to be found. "He's... gone?" One of the candidates finally spoke.

"Is he hiding? No, impossible. Perhaps he's still receiving the inheritance from the painting?" 

"Then why would the cover disappear? It makes no sense."

"Then... Did he really leave?"

Everyone was confused. The Song Family patriarch immediately signalled to the family members to search the painting for clues.

"Patriarch, there really is no one inside. He must've been teleported upon receiving the inheritance." A middle aged Elder responded.

"Mobilise every member you can. Find him and bring him back!" The patriarch turned his attention to his daughter Mia. He shot her a reassuring smile and stood up.

"I'm truly sorry everyone. It appears that an incident had occured in my Song Family. Please excuse us." The Mages quickly understood what the patriarch wanted to say.

"No need to apologise, patriarch Song. We also have a lot of work to do. Please excuse us." With all of them offering respectful bows, the Mages escorted the candidates off the platform and left.

Although they seemed regretful on the surface, in reality they were gloating about the Song Family's son-in-law disappearing. 

All of them secretly sent messages to their own forces in hopes of being the first to find and capture the mysterious youth and the inheritance of a famous painter from the past.

It looked like Kitteothia Kingdom would be shaken soon enough. At the same time, Noah was constantly on the move. He would open rift after rift in hopes of getting as far away from the Song Family as possible.

He was experiencing great dizziness as long as he was inside the Void. As he ran, he felt like he had stepped into a bottomless abyss with each step and was even now continuing to fall, unable to see where it ended.

He could also feel a kind of turbulent energy flow that seemed to contain a terrifying destructive force. A cold chill ran up Noah's spine as he focused himself and carefully moved about in order to avoid these patches of turbulent energy.

[The Void is indeed unpredictable...] These void turbulences were not something he could resist right now. Once he was sucked into one of them, it was very likely he would become lost forever.

This was also a reason why Space Element artifacts were rarely used. It was entirely possible to choose the wrong timing and get sucked up without a trace of you remaining. 

The least of your suffering would be if you were crippled. The possibility of death here was over 50%, and without a Space Element artifact you could forget about ever finding a way back to the continent. Even Court Mages would never make light of the Void. 

Noah suddenly felt like he was riding a small boat in the middle of a storm. Although he was in constant danger of being destroyed, he somehow managed to avoid the surrounding void turbulences and remain safe while constantly moving. 

It was only when the surrounding void turbulences suddenly became chaotic and violent that Noah’s expression changed and he quickly swung his artifact to tear open another rift in front of him and flee.

In a flash, Noah returned to the continent. He found himself inside of a dark, empty forest. He had no idea where he currently was. "Well, I should be far away from the Song Family at least."

Noah looked at his almost empty soul orb. He used the small knife dozens of times, and each time he exited a rift, he covered a great distance. The Song Family won't find him for a while.

Noah first built a bunker underground, before sitting down in a cross legged position. After spending a few hours to recharge his soul orb, he began looking through the information he received from the old man.

The first thing that he received were the memories of the old man's efforts to reach the Magistrate Rank and carve his name into history forever. 

But since Noah was already a Sovereign in his past life, this had no use to him. He quickly dismissed the memories and focused on the real inheritance.

Five old stone paintings which seemed to have come from ancient times appeared in his mind. Noah realized that these paintings were creations that belonged to the old painter, his self created attacks.

"Five Art Paintings. A simple name." Contrary to their simple name, Noah didn't dare underestimate these paintings. With the information he received, he could see that these paintings were in fact quasi-innate spells!

"Fascinating. He created this by himself..." Noah was left gasping. Innate spells used by Magistrate Rank Mages were so powerful that they could destroy an entire kingdom, in other words, millions of square miles all in one blast.

And these paintings would allow Noah to have five attacks that were at least half the destructive power as innate spells, but also come at a much smaller cost of using them. 

Of course, the effects would be a lot smaller now as he is merely Officer Rank. "This is pretty much equivalent to my Thirty-Six Strikes of Zenwu. What a good haul." Noah smiled.

He only came here to grab the Cubic Pearl, and yet he also left with five powerful attacks as well. The only problem was that these paintings required a lot of resources to practice, especially pure mana found in mana crystals.

[The amount of mana crystals to practice only the first painting should number in dozens of thousands of high grade mana crystals, and the next paintings might take even more.] Noah pondered to himself.

It looked like there would come a time when he would need to both set up some kind of trade deal and steal from powerful forces in the future. 

Just by relying on his Alchemy skills, it might take him his whole life to gather enough crystals for all the paintings.

After he finished his pondering, Noah took out the demonic spellbook out of his spatial ring. "You can come out now."

"Noah my friend, you look well, unfortunately. When you told me you were going to compete for a woman's hand in marriage, I was expecting to see you tired and sucked dry. What a shame, what a shame."

Niolo flew around while wearing a look of ridicule on his face. "I already told you that I would leave as soon as possible, why are you having such unrealistic expectations?" 

Noah shook his head and exited the dirt bunker. "Oh well." Niolo sighed before suddenly gaining a realization. "I know! Noah my friend, you should try and seduce Queen Medusa!" 

"What?" Noah's expression darkened, and he sneaked a glance at the small seven-colored snake coiled around his arm. Seeing that it was still asleep, he relaxed. "Yes! Just hear me out!"

Niolo continued. "Once you seduce the Queen, you can go back to the desert with her and live like a king! I heard that snakes are rather possessive about things they love. Imagine that, every night, under the moon, the two of you bang like crazy for days, like two-"

"Niolo. Just shut up." Noah once again showed a beautiful smile that would make any woman's heart melt, and Niolo felt the shadow of death upon him. "... Sure. But won't you at least consider-"

"No." With another smile, the demon soul was silenced completely. Turning his head around, Noah began walking in a random direction in search of anything familiar. 

[This demon is going to get himself, and maybe even me, killed. I need to get rid of this snake, or one day, Queen Medusa really will punish us horribly.]

*Ruuumblee!* As Noah was walking, he suddenly felt the ground tremble. "Hm?" Turning his head to the side, he hurried over to the left. "Oh, what's that, a battle? Let us go and join in Noah my friend!"

Niolo showed an excited expression as he took the lead by flying in front. 

......

On a nearby plain next to a mountain, a stone wall of around ten meters surrounded dozens of small wooden buildings. 

Usually, dozens of workers would exit and enter the buildings at all times, but they were now abandoned. The ground was littered with mining tools, and the whole place was empty.

This was a mining area that belonged to some force, but it was now a stage where a fierce battle played out! *Boom!* Explosions and bangs echoed everywhere as twenty Mages fought among themselves.

The mining area was quickly being destroyed under their attacks, and the tunnels underground also suffered damage from the impacts and began shaking. 

"Brandy Nose, today you'll learn to never challenge the Storm Hall in your life again!" A middle aged Mage filled with scars on his face yelled out as he shot out earth stalactites at a nearby old man.

"Hahaha, your Storm Hall doesn't count for shit! I'm still alive and kicking, aren't I?!" An old man with a long beard replied as he fired back a wind tornado. 

The tornado and the stalactite collided, and a fierce explosion rang out, further shaking the ground. Many buildings were already destroyed, and there were no intact buildings remaining, but no one cared about that.

"Battle Gang trash, how dare you!" The Mages from the Storm Hall were evidently enraged, and another exchange of attacks rocked the mining area. 

Suddenly, the ground cracked. One slit, followed by another. Due to the many tunnels underneath them, the force from the collision finally caused the underground tunnels to collapse.

The crashing sound of the tunnel’s collapse reverberated for kilometers. "Look at what you did, you-" The old man's words got stuck in his throat. Similarly, all the Mages present stopped dead in their tracks.

A disturbance echoed throughout the surroundings. Everyone's attention turned to the source of this disturbance and all of them were shocked beyond words.

The next moment, a fiery ray of light burst out from the ground. This ray of light soon turned into a fire dragon. Following closely to the dragon was a blue light, which turned into a majestic ice phoenix, flapping her wings.

The two giant forms turned into one. The fiery red and the ice blue both blended mutually together, producing a beautiful sight. 

However, the form emitted out a kind of unapproachable burning hot and cold energy attack; so strong that no one feel confident enough to resist.

Suddenly, the Dragon roared. The sound was so powerful that people could feel their ears spitting. Following the dragon, the Phoenix made a resounding cry.

The Mages stared at this sight utterly dumbfounded. They weren't the only ones. On a nearby hill, Noah saw this strange phenomenon and was even more surprised. "That dragon... I recognize it!"


	149. Chapter 149

Noah clearly remembered where he he saw the red shining dragon. In his past life, he was traveling through the Prisilba Kingdom to the east when he accidentally saw a red dragon soar in the sky.

When he went there to check on the situation, he found out that it was supposedly an inheritance of a small force called the Dragon Phoenix Palace. Later on, that same force became an overlord of a much greater territory.

"But what does this have to do with that inheritance?" There was also an ice blue phoenix that Noah didn't previously see. "I was intending to visit one of the Thousand Faces' treasure locations for now, but this..."

Noah had a lot of work to do. Not only did he need to practice his techniques, he also needed loot all six of Thousand Faces' treasure vaults. 

He was convinced that those places would have enough high grade mana crystals that would allow him easy breakthrough in the first of the Five Art Paintings left behind by Dominic Long. 

There was also the dragon egg that he needed to return to the dragons and finally, the collection of all the remaining Evil God's bloodlines. 

But in front of such a strange phenomenon, Noah felt that these could wait for a while. What he needed to do now was thoroughly investigate the Dragon and Phoenix in the sky.

As Noah was thinking to himself, the Dragon and Phoenix both simultaneously flew back into the cave. As the two forms reentered the cave, a bang sound could be heard. 

The earth started to tremble as a much larger burst of Fire Element fluctuations spread out from the cave. The energy this time was much more powerful than the time the Dragon and Phoenix appeared. 

The whole mining area became bright, as though a ray of sunlight continued to engulf this area. After a while, the ray of light dissipated gradually as the Fire Element fluctuations also calmed down. It was slowly turning back to the tranquil environment as before.

At the same time, the old man called Brandy Nose looked upon the cave quietly. His eyes and cheeks shivered as he muttered out. “An ancient inheritance?”

His excitement took over him as he could not help but move forward to check his suspicions. "This must be an ancient inheritance! There's no doubt about it!"

Now, above the cave, there was a thin light barrier, about 33 meters from the surface, preventing anyone from looking inside of the cave. On the top of this light barrier, there was a mysterious writing carved on it.

The old man's excitement was simply unspeakable. However, the Battle Gang members were even more excited than him. Buried underground was such unimaginable treasure. How could it not be good news for the Battle Gang? 

However, at the same time, they were aware of the gravity of this issue. Due to the battle earlier on, the other two schools must have been alerted. They must also be aware of this cave. Thus, the Battle Gang would not be able to monopolize the cave.

If the Battle Gang were to try to monopolize the cave, the two other schools, Storm Hall and Profound Cloud School would definitely join up to eradicate the Battle Gang and split the treasure amongst themselves.

Knowing this, Brandy Nose pointed towards the cave and shouted. “Go!” He feared that with the arrival of the two other schools, they might take away a lot of benefits from within the cave. 

Hence, he wanted to swiftly take as much as he could before they arrive, allowing the other schools to only receive leftover treasures.

After he issued the order, the Battle Gang’s 10 Mages flushed forwards towards the cave, while vigilantly looking at the Storm Hall Mages, in fear that they might attack them.

As expected, the 10 Storm Hall Mages also hurried up at the entrance, while one of them remained behind to send a message back to their school. Yet again, a fierce battle ensued.

As the two forces fought, some attacks hit the light barrier. The barrier, like rubber, rebound their attacks and sent each one of them flying away. After recovering from the sudden impact, everyone all looked at each other with blank dismay.

“What’s the matter?” The old man muttered after seeing the strange sight. He went forward and personally tried to enter the cave but was thrown back much like his other subordinates.

After a few more tries, all the Mages found themselves incapable of entering the light barrier. [Well obviously, it has a restriction on it...] Noah felt rather happy that all these Mages were stupid. Evidently, the forces they belonged to couldn't be of high rank.

Not wanting to waste too much of his time, he walked forward into the clear view of everyone present. "Halt! Who are you? Don't you know whose area this-"

The Mage who opened his mouth was instantly silenced when a terrifying pressure descended on him. The other Mages were also alarmed.

[This is an Officer Rank Mage!] A sense of danger immediately welled up in their minds. The old man and a Mage from the Storm Hall quickly took out their badges and bowed respectfully.

"My Lord, we are members of the Battle Gang and Storm Hall, what good wind brings you here?" Although they sounded submissive, in truth they were showing off their background, reminding Noah that if he killed them he would have some trouble.

"Niolo, they're yours. Just make sure that no one survives." Noah ignored the Mages as he nonchalantly said. "Hehehehe, thank you Noah my friend." The red demon soul flew behind him and terrified the surrounding Mages.

"A Demon!" "And such high Rank!" "Run, or we'll all die here!" After their shock passed, the Mages quickly took out all kinds of secret artifacts and spells and activated them in hopes of escaping back to their headquarters.

"Hahaha, run, run! Show me your despair when I catch you!" Greatly enjoying himself, Niolo flew right behind them, leaving Noah as the only person in this abandoned mining area.

He walked to the pit and observed the mysterious writing carved on it. "This is the language of Dragons." He frowned a little. 

Although he was proficient in all known languages on the continent, the Dragon and the Phoenix languages were a bit tough to understand.

Although he couldn't translate everything perfectly, it was enough to understand the meaning of the writing. "This is surprisingly an inheritance that can only be taken by a pair of lovers."

Where was Noah supposed to find a pair of lovers here? Although they were undoubtedly some in the Battle Gang and Storm Hall, with Niolo there they were most likely already dead.

He could only try to forcibly open it. This was usually impossible unless the Mage was of higher Rank than the one who set up the inheritance, but Noah had a key. That is, the Space Element artifact.

Another reason as to why he could succeed was his mana sense and the fact that the barrier was made from Fire Element particles. Releasing his mana sense, Noah began infusing it with the light barrier.

Slowly, the resisting barrier was beginning to twitch and muddle, opening a barely visible crack. Noah began sweating profusely; this task was not easy for him.

From the toughness of this barrier Noah could ascertain that the one who put up the barrier was definitely at least a Magistrate Rank Mage. 

After two hours, the crack finally grew big enough for a single person. "Now!" Retracting his mana sense, Noah immediately slashed at the crack with the small knife, opening a Void corridor right when the barrier was about to close.

The Void corridor and the barrier grinded against each other, and cracking noises were heard. Noah jumped into the Void corridor, and the barrier finally prevailed, crushing the Void corridor and closing up again.

Inside the Void, Noah quickly opened another Void corridor and came outside. The whole scenery quickly changed as he gently landed on a field. 

He looked up the sky to find it to still be blue but without any clouds, moon, sun or stars. On top of him was a black portal. 

As Noah shifted his gaze from the sky to the environment around him, he saw that he was surrounded by numerous stone pillars of various heights and dimensions. Some were 4 meters high while others could even be a simple sand pile.

Also, he could tell that the mana in this place was many more times richer than in the outside world, and was comparable to the painting world in the Song Family.

Noah cracked a satisfied smile and took a deep breath. "Such dense mana, it wouldn't be bad to stay here for some time and absorb it all." Although he absorbed most of the mana in the painting world, Noah still didn't become a peak Officer Rank Mage.

But now, he only needed half of the mana in this place and that would be enough. Seeing that there was no immediate danger in sight, he sat down cross-legged and emptied his mind completely.

Time began passing, although it was impossible to know how much in this world without a day-night cycle. Soon, Noah felt the soul orb in his soul lightly grow for an entire centimeter. 

He smiled with great satisfaction, and opened his eyes. "It only took me two years in this life. Peak Officer Rank!" Standing up, Noah thought about how such progress was virtually impossible. 

No genius would be able to reach Officer Rank at just 21 years of age. If they manage to reach it before 100 years, then that was already considered good. Even for Noah, who reached Officer Rank at 200 years was seen as average. 

Seeing that there was nothing else to do anymore, Noah decided to walk through a dimly lit stone opening close by. Occasionally, he would release his mana sense to check for traps, but surprisingly, there were no traps here at all.

After a while, he entered a new area. Instead of stone pillars, there were stone figures of life-like humans. There were more than a hundred different stone figures carved with different people with different height, wearing and weapons.

Suddenly, the surrounding statues all simultaneously moved! They brandished their weapons and swung them at Noah. Noah looked on with a bit of surprise. [Why are these statues so weak?]


	150. Chapter 150

Noah put up a transparent shield in front of himself to test out the strength of the stone statues. It went exactly as he expected; the statues slammed against the shield before their arms ended up blown off.

"They aren't even at Paragon Rank..." Just waving his hand once, Noah destroyed all the stone statues around him. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Could this be an inheritance for ordinary people?" Usually, if someone found ancient inheritances they would be riddled with dangers. Even Officer Rank Mages wouldn't be looking forward to investigating them.

The ancient Eras were evidently more developed than the current Era, and the Mage organizations were on a much higher level than today. 

For example, Four Seasons Garden, a top force under the protection of a Magistrate Rank Mage would at most be a middle grade force in the ancient times, not even a high grade force. 

From that, one could see just how mind bogglingly powerful the Mage organizations of the past were. And for the inheritances left behind by these organizations, they were death traps even for peak General Rank Mages.

That was why it was surprising for such an inheritance to have these pitifully weak challenges. However, Noah didn't let down his guard and proceeded on slowly.

Suddenly, he noticed something strange in the remains of the stone statues. They were pages made of a leather like material. Noah walked closer and picked them up one by one.

"These pages seem to contain some kind of spell model." Each page looked like it was ripped straight out of a book, randomly portraying information about a spell model.

Noah hurried up and collected them all. In the end, he found out that this spell model was rather unique. It would allow a Mage to store mana inside a special pocket of space, which can then be used in the form of an explosion.

However, it did not come without a cost. The pocket of space needed to be charged up first, and during that time the user would be unable to move, becoming an easy target. Using an artifact at the same time was impossible.

The worst part was that the pocket of space had a limit, and was specially catered for the use of Paragon Rank Mages. "I guess I can still sell it..." Noah stored the useless spell model into his spatial ring and moved on.

He didn't know how much time passed, but there was a difference in scenery now. Noah was no longer inside a stone tunnel, but a jungle.

The jungle was filled with lush trees and bushes, but there was one main characteristic it shared with the stone tunnel from before; it was deathly silent. There were no noises apart from the sound of Noah's steps.

There were no birds chirping, no bugs flying, no leaves moving in the wind; nothing. Apart from the plants, Noah was the only living being in this place.

Or that was what he thought. Suddenly, six world shaking roars resounded throughout the jungle. Noah released his mana sense but couldn't find anything. Evidently, the sources of these roars were more than two kilometers from him.

Noah used his Shadow Element magic to enter the shadows nearby, moving forward without a sound. After a few minutes, he finally found the sources of the roars.

There were six huge monsters glaring at each other with killing intent in their eyes. 

There was a lightning leopard, a winged crocodile, a blood red rhino, a black deformed horse with arms and legs of a human, a worm whose body was covered in eyes, and a burly yellow gorilla that shined with the color of gold.

[These monsters had to have been gathered from all over the continent. Looks like they were carefully selected so that their strength wasn't too high...]

Noah was now convinced that this inheritance really was intended for ordinary people. Everything so far has been rather simple and easy. The question remained, whose inheritance was this?

Noah walked out in clear view of the aggressive monsters. Once he dispelled his magic, the monsters sensed him within moments. Their demeanor changed, and the target of their animosity became Noah.

The first to attack was the blood red rhino. With a stomp, he rushed at Noah like a bolt of lightning, leaving behind cracks in the ground and knocking down any tree in its way. 

However, with a single punch, the rhino was flung backwards like a kite with its string cut. It crashed into a nearby rock, destroying it. Blood poured out of its smashed in head.

Seeing the death of the rhino, the other monsters calmed down for a moment, seemingly communicating with each other. A few moments later, a temporary alliance was made, and all of them encircled Noah from all sides.

This time, the ones to attack were the deformed horse and the lightning leopard. They showed impressive speed as they tried to quickly hit Noah and preoccupy his attention. 

At the same time, the winged crocodile stealthily flew in the air and rushed down, while the worm buried itself and dug his way from underneath. The gorilla was the only one who didn't move, snorting in disdain.

Noah smiled to himself. "I will use you to test out my Ice magic." Previously, the Ice Veins that he collected from Anastasia were incomplete, and using them might result in them being destroyed. 

But that was in the past. For some time now, Noah could feel that his Ice Veins were fully recovered and ready for use. Right now, he was a tri Element Mage.

"Ice Slicer." With a wave of a hand, dozens of ice spikes formed on the ground around him, shooting at the deformed horse that was approaching from behind.

Although it tried to dodge, the ice spikes were too fast for it to follow. With a blood curdling scream, the ice spikes cut apart the horse into a bloody mess.

The lightning leopard saw this and tried to retreat, but it wasn't given a chance. "Icicle Wall." A row of razor sharp icicles formed in the leopard's way, preventing its escape. 

Terrified, the leopard tried to attack once with its lightning. Roaring, the lightning on its skin crackled and multiplied, turning the monster's skin blue. Then, it hurled itself at Noah while launching lightning bolts everywhere.

Noah merely waved his hand and sent out a blue mana slash, cutting the leopard in two. Then, he turned his attention onto the winged crocodile and waved his hand again. A sliced up corpse fell on the ground, dying the dirt red.

The ground began to rumble, and Noah moved back for ten meters. *Baam!* The worm sprung up from underground, devouring the lightning leopard's corpse. Hundreds of eyes opened and small white blasts of light flew everywhere.

"Boom boom boom boom!" Numerous small explosions destroyed anything around the worm, and the golden gorilla moved backwards with an angry snort. Noah put up a transparent shield and stood in place.

Seeing that its best attack was useless, the worm became enraged and tried to swallow Noah whole. When the mouth of the worm was in front of him, Noah chanted a new spell. "Frostshock."

A small ice bead flew out of Noah's hand, flying into the gaping mouth full of thousands of sharp needle like teeth. 

Upon hitting the throat of the worm, a small 'pa!' sound was heard as a blast of ice burst forth, enveloping the worm from both inside and outside and turning it into an ice statue. 

There was only one monster left. The golden gorilla looked towards Noah and roared, showing off its teeth and loudly thumping on its chest. It didn't attack, however; seemingly saying that it doesn't want to fight, but will protect itself in case it's attacked.

"Die." Noah waved his hand and sent forth another mana slash. The gorilla roared again and placed both hands in front of it. The mana slash easily cut through its hands like butter, slicing the gorilla into two.

An expression of amazement and bewilderment was still engraved on the face of the gorilla as it died. "Excellent. There are no problems with the Ice Veins." 

Noah smiled to himself and was just about to explore this place some more when suddenly, he noticed that the corpses of the monsters began bulging, like something was trying to come out of them.

*Bang!* With several explosions, the cores of the monsters flew out of the corpses and began spinning in mid-air. With the spinning, a suction force was activated and the cores began attracting themselves to each other.

The six monster cores began spinning in a circle. With their revolution, a dark strength was pulled from the entire inheritance ground. This pull caused everything to shake violently. 

Within all the chaos, a giant dark vortex appeared in the sky. "A magic formation... I see, so that's the place where the inheritance is supposed to be..." Noah looked on at the vortex and moved away, lest he end up devoured by it.

After a few minutes, a golden spilled out from inside of the vortex. That golden light was dazzling, illuminating everything around it. It was like a hand that tore the sky open, showing the treasure hidden within.

Noah narrowed his eyes and looked closer at the light in the sky. At the top of where the light originated, something was gradually descending.

A little more time passed, and Noah discovered that those were golden stairs that shimmered with the brightest hint of value. These stairs were very long, with landings in between them. 

The descent of the golden stairs was sluggish. Along with it, the vortex also began to fluctuate. After waiting for a few minutes, more steps appeared in the vortex, and the first ones landed on the ground in front.

The thing hidden in the sky was finally exposed and showed a complete picture of what was behind it. Noah watched a huge palatial construction emerge from the sea of clouds down directly in front of him.

In front of the palace were numerous golden stairs that numbered in thousands. In front of the gigantic flight of stairs was a dim screen of light. It faintly resembled multiple gates placed next to each other.

"A final test, huh..." Noah observed the screen of light in front of him. It seemed to be something akin to a teleportation ring in the big cities. Without hesitation, he stepped through the screen of light and entered the final test.


	151. Chapter 151

Once he stepped through, Noah found out that the place looked exactly the same from the other side. Numerous flights of stairs led up towards the sky. 

When he turned back, the ripples on the screen of light completely disappeared. When he blinked his eyes, the screen of light also vanished.

Without feeling concern about it, Noah placed his foot on the first step of the flight of stairs and clenched. Suddenly, he could feel a hot energy invade his body from his foot.

He took another step, and another step, till he reached the fourth step. He could notice that the amount of hot energy increased with each step he made. "So it's a test of endurance."

Noah theorized that this test consisted of enduring the energy in the stairs as he moved upwards. Since there were thousands of stairs here, it would take him at least a day or two to reach the top.

He didn't want to waste that much time on this. A flash of inspiration suddenly struck him, and Noah began thinking for a while. A few minutes later, his eyes gleamed as he came up with an easy solution: he would cheat his way up.

The easiest way to move forward was with a Space Element artifact; it was because one step in the Void equaled to eight steps in this world. Moving along quickly wouldn't be a problem.

Slashing the air with a small knife, Noah opened a Void corridor and jumped right inside. Once the Void corridor closed behind him, he began chanting a spell.

"Chain Explosion." At the same time as he activated his spell, Noah activated his skull cross artifact, shielding himself with a blood red barrier. 

The three big explosions were aimed right below him, and launching him upwards with incredible speed. He was flying even faster than he would've in his world. 

Shooting upwards through the Void for a full minute, Noah noticed that the energy inside the Void was rapidly becoming chaotic. Without wasting a moment, he opened another Void corridor and flew outside.

Landing outside, Noah saw a beautiful golden castle standing grandly in front of him. The passage was obstructed by a thick wall of ice. He had completed the test... and it only took him a few minutes.

Putting his hand on the ice wall, he found that the chill began rapidly spreading onto his hand. He quickly removed his hand, which now looked slightly blue and even had some frost on it.

"This level of power... Is the owner of this inheritance a Ruler Rank Mage?" Noah showed a surprised expression. Even if it was a Magistrate Rank Mage's power, a leftover of their power wouldn't freeze Noah that quickly.

It could only be a Ruler Rank Mage of higher. "I'm beginning to get more and more interested in the owner of this inheritance." Noah smiled and took out his small knife again.

There was no way for him to break through this ice barrier by force. The proper way of melting it definitely had something to do with all those stairs from before, but Noah wasn't about to return down and explore.

Therefore, he cheated once again. Slashing the air in front of the ice barrier, he jumped into a Void corridor and, after moving for a few steps, immediately exited outside.

He was now inside the golden castle, and surrounding him was a luxurious garden filled with magical plants. Many of these plants were expensive and would fetch a great price outside.

Noah carefully inspected the place for any traps, and only then did he come forward and grab all of them. "Some of these plants can even tempt a High Grade Alchemist. I should use this to gain connections..."

Noah smiled as he moved through the garden, utterly looting it clean. He then moved inside the castle and walked through many lush and beautiful hallways filled with paintings and stone statues.

Whoever was the owner of this inheritance was a really big fan of art. Noah stored all of them as well. He wasn't interested in art, but he could probably give them to Isabella to auction.

As time passed, the castle was slowly becoming more and more empty. Anything that looked even remotely valuable or useful was taken, and even some tables and chairs as well.

Noah was akin to a locust swarm that devastated everything in it's path. Finally, he arrived in front of a room that emitted powerful pressure and attraction to him. "This must be where the inheritance lies..."

Opening the door, he saw a huge ball of red and blue energy circulate each other in mid-air several meters off the ground. He instantly recognised that this ball of energy was the source he was reacting to.

Strangely enough, this ball of energy did not contain just hot energy. It also contained a piercing cold energy. When the two energies came together, they did not oppose each other. 

Instead, they harmoniously coexisted alongside each other. When Noah took a closer look, he could see the energy producing two different forms from time to time.

When he realised the forms were actually two creatures, a gleam appeared in his eyes. Those two creatures were none other than the Dragon and Phoenix that flew outside the entrance.

The room was wide and big, and below the ball of energy was a pedestal decorated fully in gold. On its surface were many small dragons and phoenixes carved in, seemingly intertwined with each other.

Noah didn't try to immediately get the inheritance. Instead, he carefully inspected the wall behind the golden pedestal. 

On this wall were many caricatures and symbols, depicting a story. "This is!" Noah gasped. He finally knew who the owner of this inheritance was. Or rather, owners.

"Gairdim the Dragon Emperor and Solaeen the Phoenix Empress! It's actually them!" Noah quickly remembered all the information he knew about these two famous powerhouses of the past.

Many eras before the Dark Era, the Dragon Tribe and the Phoenix Tribe lived on the mainland and possessed great territories. The rulers of each tribe were called Emperors.

Gairdim and Solaeen were particularly famous. They were actually husband and wife, and under their leadership the two tribes were at their strongest. Both of them were peak Ruler Rank powerhouses comparable to Sovereign Rank Mages!

However, their end was not a happy one. Two Sovereign Rank Mages ganged up on them and ended up heavily injuring them. From then, the two of them disappeared, never to be found by their tribesmen.

Noah was extremely excited. This was an ancient inheritance left behind by a real Dragon and Phoenix! His attention returned to the golden pedestal in the middle of the room.

He walked in front of the two shining balls of energy and inspected it. A moment later, he looked on with bewilderment. "These two apparitions... Are created by their souls?"

The small Dragon and Phoenix that flew around looked at each other with affection in their eyes. Noah could see that these constructs of energy possessed intelligence.

"How insane. To stay together, they abandoned their hopes of reincarnation and fused themselves to these energy constructs..." Noah looked on with disdain.

Regardless of who were the inheritors, these two would lose their very souls in the end, not even being able to go to Heaven or Hell upon death. Noah couldn't comprehend such foolishness.

After seeing that there were no traps hidden around, Noah released his mana sense and began enveloping the ball of energy with it. Over time, the ball of energy suspended in mid-air started to descend as if a hand was lightly and slowly pressing down on it.

Both figures of the Dragon and Phoenix within the ball of energy started to transform non-stop. They would appear for a second before disappearing again. 

This whole process repeated itself blindingly and rapidly as it slowly made their forms clearer over time. As the Dragon and the Phoenix started to vibrate more, their forms also became more apparent. 

They were flashing more and more intensely as the red and blue portions of the ball continued to interact with each other, producing a bright ray of light.

Suddenly, the Dragon roared and the Phoenix then cried, and a ball of light began resisting Noah's mana sense. Obviously, the inheritance was meant for two people, not one person.

"Hmph, you may have been comparable to Sovereigns previously, but your souls and mana senses are still at Ruler Rank. Pipe down and disappear." With a cold snort, Noah doubled down on the ball of energy.

The Dragon and Phoenix began shivering under the pressure, and the ball of energy broke like a bubble, exposing two smaller red and blue balls of energy. 

Suddenly, Noah could see two figures appear out of nowhere. They were both middle aged, one a man and the other a woman. Both of them were beautiful and surrounded by a solemn air. 

"Human, I don't know how you managed to come here when you don't pass the qualifications, but I'll give you a chance to leave now, or you'll die here." The man growled in anger.

"Sure, just give me the inheritance and I'll leave in peace." Noah replied nonchalantly, further angering the middle aged man.

"Foolish, greedy man, stop now or you won't survive. Our inheritance is meant for two people. You cannot take two of our powers at once, or you'll die." The beautiful woman looked at Noah coldly, like she was looking at an insect.

"An ordinary Mage may die, but not me." Noah replied with a smile, and further pulled the two balls of light toward him. Thanks to his Ice Element special body composition, he could absorb both of these energies without a problem.

"A dual Element Mage?!" The woman's charming eyes narrowed. "So that's why you're so confident..." Noah replied with a smile. "Hmph, do what? Don't think that we can't attack you."

The man coldly snorted and released a terrifying, overbearing pressure on the entire room. The woman did so as well. Two Ruler Rank pressures would immediately squash Noah like an ant into a bloody pulp.

Or that's what they thought. Noah didn't show even a flicker of a change in his expression as he continued pulling the two energies toward his body. "How is this possible?" 

Both of them looked on, stunned to their core. The small human in front of them was at most an Officer Rank Mage, akin to a speck of dust to them. How could he survive their pressure completely unharmed?

"Enough of your yapping. Disappear forever into history." Noah's expression became serious, and his pull on the two energies strengthened. In response, the two energies changed shapes into a Dragon and a Phoenix, trying to run away from his grasp.

"No! I will not allow someone like you to inherit our memories just like that!" Suddenly, the middle aged man let out a dragon like roar, and the expression on the woman's face became grave.

"Dear, don't tell me you..." The man didn't answer, instead turning his gaze onto Noah. "Human, I sacrifice my very soul itself to plant this curse on you; all of your family will die most horrible deaths, and you will never find yourself true friendship and love."

Noah listened to the man and saw him crumble to pieces. Then, a reddish black puff of smoke rushed at him and entered his body. Unbeknownst to both of them, the curse was destroyed right after making contact with Noah's soul.

"If that is the decision you made, I will follow suit." The woman resigned herself and spoke in an incomparably cold voice. "I sacrifice my soul for this curse; you shall never again enjoy the bliss of feelings, and in the end you will become a frozen husk of a man."

With that, the woman also crumbled and turned into a curse that shot at Noah, immediately after destroyed. Noah didn't spare them a glance; he merely continued pulling the small Dragon and Phoenix toward him.

Finally, the two figures crashed into him, and forcibly entered Noah's body. A sensation of intense heat and intense cold permeated through Noah. "Finally..."


	152. Chapter 152

Noah took off his clothes and lowered his head; he saw both a Dragon and a Phoenix tattoo, frolicking and chasing one another. Every part of Noah's body they passed woul feel the intense heat and coldness. 

At the same time, Noah could feel information bring transmitted into his brain. It was a description of a training method, one greatly different from the typical methods of this world. 

It was a method that actually required the practitioners to share as much skin contact as possible. In other words, the best way to practice this technique would be to have sex. "What an interesting method..." 

Although Noah had absolutely no intention of practicing this method himself, he had to admit that this technique called 'Ice Fire Unification' was truly genius. 

This method had no hidden dangers, and its goal was to quickly build up strength of both practitioners. They only had to have a Fire and Ice attribute, and that was it. 

The practitioners of this method share a special connection that allows them to know each other's thoughts without speaking, in addition to discerning each other's location within a certain range. 

"No wonder those two were so powerful and capable of such great coordination, it was all because of this." Noah decided to keep this method for himself, not selling it. It might come in handy one day. Of course, this training method wasn't the only piece of inheritance here. 

There were also supposed to be memories pertaining to the realm of Ruler Rank Mages, but since the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress sacrificed their souls, the knowledge disappeared along with them. 

But Noah didn't care about that at all. What he was interested in was the Dragon Phoenix Palace and the similar sight Noah witnessed in his previous life. "It looks like I need to make a slight detour..."

Noah smiled and dressed himself again. On the way out, he grabbed the golden pedestal and stored it in his spatial ring. Something like that would surely fetch quite a good price...

......

"Noah my friend, you've returned!" On the way out, Noah was greeted by Niolo, who was flying beside ten wooden carts filled to the brim with mana crystals. There were also a war horn and a pair of triangle earrings artifacts on top.

"How long was I inside?" Noah looked at all the wooden carts with a curious expression. "A day or two days, I don't really remember." Niolo answered nonchalantly, looking proud.

Noah finally asked what was on his mind. "Is this the loot from their treasuries?" Hearing this, Niolo smiled proudly. "Of course! I knew you'd ask me to collect such things, so I did it first!"

"Oh? Looks like you aren't completely braindead as I thought previously, Niolo." Noah sincerely praised, although Niolo's expression darkened right after. [What kind of praise is that...]

After storing the mana crystals and the artifacts, Noah took out the demonic spellbook. "Get in. We're leaving." 

"Are we going to visit those lizards?" Niolo asked warily. If he was found out by Dragons, his end would not be pretty. He was naturally unwiling to go and see them.

"Not yet. We have to visit two places before that." Noah responded. "And where we're going now is a place where you'll be able to enjoy yourself some more."

Hearing this, Niolo's eyes glowed. "Yippee! Let's go, let's go! Hurry, Noah my friend!" With a cheer, he quickly rushed into the demonic spellbook. Noah stored the spellbook and delved deep into the shadows...

......

Two weeks passed by since then. A Void corridor opened inside of a place filled with thick fog, and Noah jumped out, looking around with his mana sense. His shoulder was bleeding profusely, and white bone could be seen inside the deep wound.

His wound was quickly closing up thanks to his body's natural regeneration, helped a little by the lotus flower. As the wound was closing, Void energy was emmited from inside and dissipated into thin air.

Noah could now confirm that he was inside a mountain valley, and he discovered that there were actually a few hundred ordinary people led by an Officer Rank Mage gathered at the mouth of this mountain valley, not too far away from him.

All of these people seemed to be solemnly and silently waiting at the edge of this valley. As for why they were behaving this way or why they were here, Noah definitely knew, as he immediately recognized this place.

Quietly finding a place to sit down, Noah concealed himself and his power before starting to restore the mana he had just consumed, along with letting his wound heal completely.

As he was restoring himself, he saw that these people seemed to be carrying out some kind of sacred ceremony. Two of the Mages present were acting very seriously and the ordinary youths seemed to be filled with excitement and anticipation.

An hour later, the ceremony apparently ended and in a booming voice, the lone Officer Rank Mage began to solemnly chant some incomprehensible words.

A moment later, a youth strode into the mountain valley. Inside the thick fog, this individual walked straight towards Noah. From his appearance, he appeared to only be a fourteen year old boy.

This slightly immature youth excitedly strode forward with an unyielding look upon his face that seemed eager for strength.

This mountain valley was not too wide, but it stretched and twisted for quite some distance. The boy walking through the fog maintained a steady pace, his eyes focused ahead of himself.

But before this youth had gone more than a thousand meters, from the depths of the mountain valley, a gentle wind burst forth.

The youth was unable to resist this force and was pushed back towards the valley’s entrance. After stabilizing himself, a discouraged look appeared on his face.

At the same time, Noah became excited, because when this thrust of wind appeared, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation from behind himself, as if something was trying to crawl across his back.

However, it stopped right after. After the boy was pushed back, he turned around, hung his head, and walked back the way he came. 

A moment later, upon leaving the mountain valley, everyone who was waiting there seemed to understand and sighed. The Officer Rank Mage simply glanced at the youth once before calmly shouting. “Next!”

Another youth, who was similar in age to the first boy, then walked into the valley. Like the first boy’s experience, after walking inwards a short distance, he was pushed back by the same soft force and turned back in frustration.

One by one, these youths walked into the valley, were repelled, and returned. The Officer Rank Mage, who was presiding over all this, also began to appear somewhat low-spirited.

Unfortunately, it seemed like none of the youths gathered here were able to pass the test, each of them being blocked after advancing several hundred to a thousand meters into the mountain valley.

Out of the hundred or so young boys who had gathered at the mouth of the valley, fewer and fewer had not entered, those who had failed all wearing disappointed looks upon their faces.

Noah turned his attention to the depths of the mountain valley at some point and his eyes shone. Every time that gentle force appeared to push back these youths, he would feel the same tingling sensation coming from his back. 

The strange sensation he was feeling, as if something was crawling across his skin, was clearly coming from the Dragon tattoo on his back. Listening carefully, Noah could even hear a subtle dragon roar from this tattoo.

Now completely recovered, Noah left his hiding place and walked deeper into the mountain valley. This winding mountain valley that he was in, from a bird’s eye perspective, was actually shaped just like a great Dragon.

The mouth of the valley was the Dragon’s tail, while the deepest depths was its head. There were also two big offshoots from the valley in the shape of Dragon wings, giving it a vivid and realistic look.

The deeper Noah ventured into the valley, the clearer the sensation coming from his back was and the faster the Dragon tattoo swam about.

Sensing this, Noah was even more convinced that this place was related to the inheritance that he collected from the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress two weeks prior.

At the mouth of the valley, the Officer Rank Mage’s brow had by now completely turned into a frown as he shouted in a worn out voice. “Next!”

At this command, a young boy with somewhat delicate facial features stepped forward and walked towards the mountain valley. When the youth disappeared into the fog, the old man couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

“Palace Master, this is the last person,” A nearby Paragon Rank Mage whispered. The man referred to as Palace Master simply nodded slightly. “I know, it seems this time is also a failure.”

The Paragon Rank Mage frowned. “After three years training these hundred youths, which one of them hasn’t made good progress? Palace Master, could it be that our method is somehow wrong?”

The Palace Master glanced over at his subordinate and asked. “What are you suspecting?”

“Subordinate would not dare, but…” The Paragon Rank Mage began. “No buts!” The Palace Master scolded harshly. 

“Although our Sect is now not very strong, you must remember that long ago, we were one of this world’s most powerful forces! Anyone who saw us would treat us with courtesy, and our disciples could freely walk the world as no one dared to provoke us!”

“Yes.” The Paragon Rank Mage nodded. The Palace Master then let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, all these years, no one has passed the Dragon Valley’s test so it has been impossible for us to reproduce our past brilliance and glory..."

The group of youths standing nearby eagerly listened in on the conversation between these two Mages, a look of curiosity appearing in their eyes.

At this moment, the fog that constantly shrouded the Dragon Valley suddenly became somewhat disordered and the enter mountain valley trembled slightly, startling everyone standing at its mouth, each of them wondering if some kind of accident had occurred.

The gathered youths even went somewhat pale with fright. Suddenly, a great dragon’s roar resounded from the depths of the mountain valley and a dazzling golden radiance as brilliant as the noon sun shot into the sky.

The eyes of the man called Palace Master suddenly bulged as he stared dumbfounded at the golden light. The Paragon Rank Mage beside him also wore the same shock filled look.

The golden light began twisting and after a while, a dragon head filled with endless majesty was formed, proudly and indifferently overlooking the valley below.

Under its gaze, all the gathered sect members couldn’t help feeling small and insignificant. Even the Palace Master couldn’t help trembling as he pointed towards the Golden Dragon high up in the sky and stammering. 

“It appeared, it really appeared… it’s exactly the same as what was recorded in the ancient book, the Golden Dragon’s head has appeared, the Dragon Emperor has returned…”

“Palace Master… this, does this mean… someone passed the test?” The Paragon Rank Mage stuttered.

The Palace Master was too excited to compose himself as tears streamed down his face, not even reacting to his subordinate’s question as he stared fixedly at the Golden Dragon head for a moment. Only after a while did he suddenly ask, “The boy who just entered the Dragon Valley, what was his name?”

"You don't need to bother with that old man! You won't be alive to see it, after all!" Suddenly, a powerful voice echoed throughout the mountain valley, attracting everyone's attention.

"Who dares to attack my Dragon Phoenix Palace?!" The Palace Master thundered, but when he saw something red fly at him from within the mountain valley, his words got stuck in his throat.

"I am everyone's favorite uncle Niolo. Now, where are the girls at?" Niolo was clearly having fun with the old Palace Master as he replied. The latter, on the other hand, was horrified.

"Quick, evacuate the disciples and inform every force nearby; a Demon is attacking!" The old man turned around and ordered the Paragon Rank Mage next to him.

"Oh, you're calling for more friends? My friend said that this entire area is relatively weak, so call anyone you want!" Niolo laughed out loud before crashing straight at the old Palace Master. 

The nightmare that would soon envelop the Dragon Phoenix Palace was now beginning...


	153. Chapter 153

In the deepest part of the mountain valley, Noah stared at the golden Dragon head that suddenly appeared as his heart pounded furiously.

The tingling sensation he had been feeling, had transformed into an intense throbbing that seemed to be resonating with the dragon roar coming from the valley. 

In the next instant, the Dragon tattoo leapt off his back and flew straight toward the giant dragon head floating high up in the sky.

As the two dragons met, the intensity of the golden light rose drastically, to the point where no one could even open their eyes.

A moment later, the light faded and Noah discovered that he was now inside a golden world filled with an unfathomable amount of pure energy. A golden Dragon only a few meters in length was now swimming around him, constantly swallowing this rich golden energy.

Noah probed this dragon slightly before relaxing his guard. This several meter long golden Dragon gave off the same aura as him and if Noah's guess was correct, it should be the tattoo which resided on his back. 

Right now, as it fed, this golden Dragon was slowly growing both in size and strength. [It really was a two part inheritance...] Noah smiled as he looked up at the constantly growing Dragon.

From behind Noah, all of a sudden, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out. Turning around, Noah saw a youth roughly fourteen or fifteen years old sitting on his butt staring back at him in terror.

He had been so focused on the scene before him that Noah had actually not even noticed when this youth had appeared.

Another reason was because the boy was too weak. He was just an ordinary person, and even among his fellow disciples he was closer to the bottom.

After releasing his mana sense for a moment, Noah slowly shook his head. His mana sense was unable to penetrate this ocean of golden energy so he was unable to see anything outside.

Sweeping his eyes around, Noah confirmed that, besides the young boy in front of him, there was no one and nothing else present.

With a light smile, Noah turned around and stepped towards this youth. His smile made him look harmless, but in this situation he only looked more terrifying.

Seeing Noah approach, the boy seemed to be overcome with fear and before Noah could even speak a single word, the boy’s eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.

"Oh..." Noah looked at this cowardly youth for a moment, thinking on what to do with him. Suddenly, he received a flash of inspiration and waved his hand, activating his spatial ring.

A glass epruvete appeared in his hand, half full with a red liquid. Looking closely, it was possible to see something black swimming inside it. "I can finally try to grow this Branded Poison."

This was a small piece of Branded Poison that stuck to Noah once he expelled the main body from Reynold Esford. This small piece was then stored by Noah in hopes of trying to grow it again.

Noah opened the youth's mouth and poured his blood and the Branded Poison down his throat. For a few moments, the youth didn't show any changes, still lying on the ground unconscious.

Then, the youth's body began trembling for a full minute, before suddenly jerking upwards violently. Under Noah's careful observation, the youth's body began turning black in color, and it was slowly becoming dried up in appearance.

Noah opened the youth's eyelid and inspected his eye. It was now completely ink black in color and beginning to dry up, slowly shrinking. If the youth was awake now, he would definitely be in the worst pains imaginable.

After five minutes in total, the youth was completely dead, the only remains of his body now being black dried up skin and his clothes. This sight was rather terrifying.

Noah suddenly saw a small palm sized octopus leave through the youth's mouth. It looked just like the main body that Noah destroyed, with many small mouths filled with razor sharp teeth.

"Reynold... Hate... Kill... Esford Family..." Occasionally, the tiny octopus would mutter out loud various words pertaining to Grand Duke Raynold, as it was created from collective hatred of a cult toward him.

Noah's face showed a happy smile at this development. "So it can be raised... How nice." He took out a small wooden box and opened it towards the small Branded Poison. 

He then scared the Branded Poison into the wooden box with fire and stored it into his spatial ring. "Looks like I'll be using you in the future." Now done, Noah sat down and waited while carefully examining his surroundings.

This place had been completely engulfed by this golden energy ocean, and the Dragon tattoo that rested on his back was still slowly swallowing it. Noah tried to see if he could break through this energy blockade, but soon concluded it was futile.

This golden energy ocean was made by a Ruler Rank Mage, so it was impenetrable. By using his Space Element artifact, he would normally be able to escape, but he didn't want to leave yet as the Dragon tattoo wasn't finished.

In any case, it was impossible anyone from the outside could come in here as well, so Noah could relax.

......

At the same time, in the outside world, a battle was raging on.

*Boom!* An explosion of ice engulfed a terrifying 10 meter tall monstrosity, turning parts of it frozen. "Dammit, it's too powerful!" A middle aged man with bulging muscles exclaimed as he punched out at the monster in front.

"Ooohhhggg..." The monstrosity was the former Palace Master of Dragon Phoenix Palace, now a 10 meter tall tree with a grieving old man's face. The tree was blood red in color, and drenched in the blood of the Dragon Phoenix Palace members.

Its tall legs firmly pressed on the ground, not allowing it to collapse. Even a direct strike from an Officer Rank Warrior merely made it sway for a few moments.

Nearby, eight more Officer Rank Mages frowned as they continued launching spells at the tree demon. "Crimson Javelin!" A javelin made of pure fire shot towards the demon, but with surprising speed, the demon dodged out of harm's way.

"Icicle Burst!" Over a dozen sharp icicles flew at the demon, piercing its tough trunk and stabbing into its body. The demon didn't even budge, merely letting out more mournful noises.

"Take this!" The Officer Rank Warrior circulated mana throughout his body, turning himself into a bulging mountain of muscle and punching at the demon again. 

*Bam!* "Oghghh..." The demon swayed backwards again, and the trunk on its body noticably cracked. A muddy yellow liquid dripped down the trunk from cracks.

Suddenly, the old face on the demon's body opened its eyes, and the mournful expression was replaced with an angry one. The mouth on the face stretched out to an impossible size, and a horrifying screech resounded throughout the mountain valley.

"Aaarrggh!" The Mages shrieked in pain as they felt their eardrums burst. They could also feel a strong force pulling at their souls, and their vision began growing dark.

The one who took the brunt of the attack was the Warrior, and his soul was now on the brink of leaving his body entirely. "I'll be taking this."

Niolo flew in front of the Warrior and sucked up his soul with no difficultly. "Hmm, not bad. It's not comparable to Evil Spirits, but the souls of Mages are still tasty." He said as he munched.

Right now, the tree demon stopped attacking, and its expression became mournful again. It stood in place, too tired to continue. The soul scream took too much energy out of it, and it needed to recover.

"It stopped. Quick, attack it!" The Mages didn't miss this opportunity, and although they couldn't hear right now, they still understood what the other was saying.

Again, a salvo a magic attacks crashed against the demon, this time dealing more damage than before. The demon, unable to attack, merely stood in place and wailed. 

It was becoming evidently more injured than before, and in the places where the trunk was already destroyed, disgusting organs reminiscent of a human's dropped out and hung in the air. 

"You only managed to kill one of them, and that was also with my help, yet you think you can rest? Go back to work!" Niolo commanded with his mind, and the tree demon shuddered, its eyes suddenly beginning to bulge and bleed.

"Roooaarrr!" With a maddening roar, the tree demon forcibly moved and threw itself at the nearby Mages. "Aaahhh!" It manged to pin down one Mage and bite at his stomach, crushing it and tearing out his organs.

"Help me! Help-" The Mage, still not dead, flailed around helplessly. The surrounding Mages ignored his pleas and shot more spells at the demon, engulfing both of them in explosions.

"We already lost two of them. Should we use artifacts now?" One of the Mages thought to himself. He didn't care whether others lived or died, and all of them would be happy to split their territory among the survivors later.

But all of them were greatly alarmed by the toughness of this tree demon. To Mages, there was no worse opponent than Demons, with their great physical and magic toughness, perhaps only lacking to a dragon's.

Suddenly, the tree demon roared again, rushing out of the crater left behind by explosions and throwing itself at the six Mages again. "Shit. Fire again!" The battle continued on, and the curtain of night enveloped the valley.

......

Inside the golden ocean at the end of Dragon Valley, the golden Dragon had finally finished swallowing up all the ambient energy and its whole body was now emitting a dazzling light. 

It was as if it had become a true dragon and carried with it an aura of endless majesty. A resounding dragon’s roar rang out as the Golden Dragon soared up into the sky.

The sky seemed to explode as a burst of light so bright erupted that everyone within a hundred kilometers would have been blinded.

It was as if the golden Dragon had been trapped for thousands of years and had just broken free, rejoicing as it soared through the sky. After a while, the golden Dragon suddenly swooped down and slammed into Noah, bringing with it something new.

Noah wore an excited expression as he felt something filled with power enter his soul. He felt a strange feeling, as if something that wasn't complete finally recovered its final piece.

The barrier sealing this place disappeared, and Noah walked out, leaving the dry black skin of a youth behind. He still had to grab the second part of the inheritance.


	154. Chapter 154

The Phoenix Nest was located not far from Dragon Valley, but contrary to its name, it was actually just a jungle. From above, the jungle itself though appeared to be shaped in the form of a great flying phoenix.

The jungle was comprized completely of a single species of ancient trees, all of which had grown to an enormous height after untold centuries of time.

Phoenix Nest was very different from Dragon Valley in that the latter was only approachable by the Dragon Emperor, no one else could even enter. Once an outsider tried to approach, they would be pushed away by an invisible force.

Phoenix Nest, on the other hand, hadn’t shown any kind of abnormal reaction for many years. It was as if it was just another ordinary jungle. There were even many disciples of Dragon Phoenix Palace who would come here to have romantic trysts.

Noah felt that there was something in this Phoenix Nest that was calling out to him, causing the Dragon and Phoenix tattoos on his back to become more active and give him a strange tingling sensation.

After walking for quite some time, Noah suddenly emerged from the jungle and saw a small lake in front of him. This lake was filled with clear, sparkling water but it was impossible to see very deep into it, much less find its bottom. 

The lake seemed to be covered by a strange and mysterious power. Standing on the shore and looking down, Noah couldn’t help raising his brow slightly.

He found that there was a kind of hazy reflection in this lake, one of a majestic phoenix. It seemed real yet illusory all at once.

Standing on the shore of the lake, the blue Phoenix tattoo on Noah's back began swimming even more quickly, and there was even a feeling like it would rush out at any moment.

Gently taking a breath, Noah did not suppress it any longer. A moment later, along with a great cry, the Phoenix tattoo leapt from Noah’s back and manifested itself.

After rushing out of Noah’s body, it swam a few circles through the air before plunging towards Phoenix Lake. The lake surface rippled for an instant and then the blue Phoenix disappeared.

Sometime after the blue Phoenix disappeared into the Phoenix Lake, the water’s surface became unsettled, as if there was some great energy rising up from its depths.

As the ripples spread, the phoenix image in Phoenix Lake began to twist and distort. If one were to stand back and observe from a distance, it would look like this illusory phoenix image was actually flapping its wings as it soared upwards from the bottom of the lake.

A tiny wisp of light suddenly fluttered over and sunk into Phoenix Lake. After the first, a second came, then a third. Soon hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of these wisps began flying over, each one containing a mysterious yet incredible power!

Noah soon discovered that these wisps of light were actually flying over from the trees which Phoenix Nest was comprised of. When he had come here though, Noah had not found anything unusual about these trees, so this development was interesting to him.

Throughout the Phoenix Nest, innumerable wisps of light were being released, just like a swarm of fireflies. These wisps rushed out of the jungle and quickly gathered towards the Phoenix Lake.

Sitting on the shore of the lake, Noah could clearly feel that the energy in the surrounding region had undergone a tremendous change.

There was a strong sense of majesty pulsing from the bottom of the lake, and it was growing stronger by the breath.

After what seemed like both a long yet short time, all the wandering wisps sank into Phoenix Lake. At that moment, the hazy phoenix reflection in the lake seemed to come alive and its wings began to flutter more and more quickly.

Suddenly, the lake seemed to explode and water shot up into the sky. Amidst the great splash of water, a blue Ice Phoenix appeared, much greater in size.

It was a gorgeous, light blue, crystal-clear, flawless image, that exuded the nobles of auras, as if it was aloof of the mortal world.

After letting out a powerful cry, the Ice Phoenix suddenly trembled and its body transformed into a million wisps of light that swept toward Noah. 

Noah didn’t move, allowing this rush of cold energy flood into his body, a thick layer of frost instantly condensing on his skin in the process. The influx of ice and cold attribute energy had instantly caused his body temperature to plunge.

Even General Rank Mages might have to exert effort to shield themselves from this much Ice Element power, but thanks to Noah's Ice Veins special composition, he wasn't impaired in the slightest. It was as if he was an Ice Element Spirit.

Noah inspected his condition. He noticed that the Dragon and Phoenix on his back have disappeared with no trace left behind. "No physical change. Then... What's this?" Noah's mouth lightly opened.

Right now, in his soul next to his soul orb, there were two balls of energy! The two balls were fiery red and ice blue; causing Noah to understand now why the Dragon and Phoenix tattoos disappeared.

"Is it a power upgrade?" Curious, Noah chanted a quick spell and threw a fireball at the trees nearby. An explosion occurred, and fire caught on the trees, but there was no noticeable difference when compared to his strength before.

"I guess not then." Noah's eyebrows creased as he rummaged through his memories of any information about the Dragon and Phoenix tribes. Unfortunately, he still didn't know what these balls of energy were.

In the past Eras, the number of Dragons and Phoenixes was much greater than now, and the ancient Mages naturally captured many of them for the sake of experiments and gathering information.

Unfortunately, after the Dragons and Phoenixes left the main continent and started living on the Dragon and Phoenix Islands, Mages couldn't perform experiments anymore, and after the Dark Era, practically all knowledge regarding these two races disappeared completely.

In the current Era, seeing a Dragon or a Phoenix was considered remarkable, as they usually never leave the safety of their islands. If any information pertaining to them were to be auctioned, the price it would garner would be astronomical.

Noah could only wait and see if the balls of energy had any special effect on him as he didn't have any information. "It doesn't matter. What happens, happens." 

Noah shrugged his shoulders and left the jungle. Outside, Niolo and a demon that looked like a giant with four heads and six arms stood, waiting. The giant held in its hands three wooden crates filled with mana crystals, mostly low grade ones and a few dozen middle grade ones.

"I see you had your fun." Noah commented as he stored all the crystals in his spatial ring. "Haha, indeed I have! Right now, even if we have to spend time in boring caves for some time I can endure it!" Niolo responded with a refreshing smile.

"Good, that's my next destination." Niolo's expression darkened immediately after. [Me and my big mouth...] He could do nothing but accept it and go inside the demonic spellbook.

[Now it's time to disappear...] Noah took out the meat jelly artifact and took on the appearance of a young blond haired youth with blue eyes. Just as he was about to leave, however, something caught his eye.

It was a red flare rushing up into the air before letting out a powerful explosion. The noise it produced would be able to attract anyone within multiple kilometers. [That's a signal flare that the Church uses.]

Noah's expression quickly became grave, and he immediately released his mana sense. A kilometer away, close to the mouth of the Dragon Valley, he saw a squad of ten people, all of them wearing white robes embroidered with gold.

On their backs was a symbol of a golden sun. This symbol represented only one thing to dark Mages; their worst enemy, the Church of Light!

[They must've gotten word from one of the attacked forces, or perhaps they were in the vicinity. Either way, I must leave now.] Noah knew that these Mages weren't alone, so he didn't overstay his welcome and immediately slipped into the shadows.

......

At the same time, in front of the Dragon Valley, the Mages from the Church of Light inspected the remains of the killed Officer Rank Mages that belonged to nearby forces as well as the corpse of the tree demon.

"What is it, did you find anything?" Three figures walked out from the Dragon Valley, all of them young women. A young blonde haired nun with a spear stepped in front. She seemed like the leader of the group as everyone looked at her with respect.

"Lady Riera, we confirmed that these Mages belong to nearby forces from here. None of their belongings indicate that they were dark Mages or that they were involved in the summoning of this demon." One of the Mages responded.

"So this isn't a failed summoning. Which means that the perpetrator is still out there..." The young nun's face became grim. "So what, all we have to do is find them and hack them to pieces!" 

A short girl with long pink hair swung her double handed axe, creating a gust of wind that cut down a dozen of nearby trees. "Calm yourself Iris. You're disturbing these valiant Mages' resting place."

"Eeeehhh..." Iris grunted im displeasure but listened. Riera turned towards a young woman in a black uniform that was quietly standing by the side. "How did you know that there was a demon here, Sephilia?" 

The woman with shoulder length snow white hair kept quiet for a few moments before replying in a bland voice. "I felt someone tell me to come here. I don't know how to explain it." 

The nun Riera smiled. "It must've been the guidance of our Goddess. You're truly blessed to be able to hear her voice." Sephilia didn't reply, seemingly stuck in a daze. Suddenly, she began walking in a certain direction.

The others didn't try to interrupt her. Riera and Iris followed behind while the other Mages stayed behind to bury the deceased. After walking for a few minutes, the three of them arrived in front of a jungle. 

Right there, all three of them changed their expressions greatly. They saw a demon with six arms and four heads standing in front of the jungle. The giant didn't move at all even as the three approached.

The three of them didn't waste time, immediately attacking the demon. "Ooohhh!" Iris swung her huge battle axe and jumped through the air, cutting off all four of the demon's heads right away.

*Swish!* Like a shadow, Sephilia flashed by with great speed and performed an 'X' slash on the demon with two long blades. The demon still didn't move a muscle, as though it was a statue.

*Woom!* Finally, a silver spear blew through the demon's chest, creating a big hole. Not a drop of blood pursed out of the wound, and the inside of the demon's body was covered in frost.

The demon's body lifelessly fell on the ground, dead. The three women didn't let their guard down for a while, waiting for a possible demonic parasite to jump out.

After waiting for five minutes, they finally relaxed. Once the other Mages arrived at their position, they used Light magic to purify the demon from this world. "How boring, it didn't even put up a fight." Iris complained.

"Maybe it was ordered to stay here by someone." Riera thought. "There's no way that a summoner would just leave such a powerful demon here for no reason. They should eventually come back. We should prepare for that."

"Yes, Lady Riera!" The Mages obediently nodded, and quickly started preparations for a camp. At the same time, Sephilia walked inside the jungle as if searching for something. After arriving in front of a small lake, she stood still.

Again, there was a feeling of someone speaking to her. She felt like she was in an embrace of her mother as a child; and a voice full of love towards her spoke directly in her mind. [North... Go North...]

"North, I have to go North." Sephilia repeated after the voice. [Kill him... You must kill him...] "I must... Kill him!" A strange feeling of anger filled Sephilia as she looked towards the North.


	155. Chapter 155

The Prisilba Kingdom was situated towards the east of the continent, and was the kingdom closest to the underground kingdom Monera of the dwarves. 

The natural barrier that separated these two kingdoms was a huge lake called 'The Gestalt Lake'. Although it was called a lake, it would be more appropriate to call it a sea. 

The Prisilba Kingdom and the Monera Kingdom would usually trade between each other through special trade channels.

It was because the lake was filled with terrifying monsters, and exterminating them all would be impossible. There were also many islands of varying sizes spread throughout the lake, but only some of them were populated.

It's because the islands were also filled with tough monsters that managed to reach General Rank. Furthermore, many of those islands were smaller in size, so they couldn't be used as naval bases, causing the Prisilba Kingdom to only take the biggest ones and leave the smaller ones alone.

Right now, a ship of 40 meters in size was gliding through the lake water peacefully. This ship had a total of five masts, each hung a huge sail flapping in the wind; and and on the stern of the ship was a mermaid statue carved from wood.

Although the ship was moving along without obstruction, the people on the ship were not enjoying the ride, grave expressions plastered on their faces instead.

All of them would occasionally glance over at a young man who was looking at the sea from the deck, and would quickly turn their head away; as if they were looking at a dead man.

"My Lord..." An old Mage with an eye patch and many scars on his face walked towards the youth. "I still believe that you should think this over. The Mirage Island is very dangerous. Many strong Mages have tried to investigate it, but all of them died."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." The young man with blonde hair and blue eyes turned around and gave the old Mage a reassuring smile. "Just as I've said, you can leave immediately after I take off. No need to wait for me."

"I see. I won't disturb you anymore, My Lord." The old man bowed respectfully before turning his back on the youth. [So young looking, yet so foolish. It's a good thing that he allowed us to leave, I don't want to die in that hellhole...]

The old man immediately listed Noah as a living corpse. The Mirage Island was a place feared by any sane sailor and Mage. Whoever went there over the years died without exception, such a fact never changed.

If it wasn't for a generous payment in middle grade mana crystals that Noah gave, the old man would never have agreed to lead Noah here. 

Soon, the ship was enveloped in a thick fog that made it almost impossible to see. Luckily, the crew on the ship knew the way out, guiding the ship through the fog with utmost precision. It was hard to count how many ships sunk in this fog.

After a few hours of death like silence, Noah heard a shout from above. “Mirage Island, Mirage Island!” The cry was filled with dread and fear, and Noah could tell that the man who was shouting was shaking.

*Deng Deng Deng!* All of the crew members sprang into action and headed towards the deck. Not one of them dared to dilly dally. They all just wanted to drop Noah off and leave.

Under the recently risen sun, several hundred meters in front of the ship, there was a piece of fantastic, illusory scenery suspended in midair.

It was a paradise-like scene with mountains, rivers, and valleys. There were birds flying in groups in the sky. A ‘ding dong’ sound came from the mountains and fell in their ears. 

As far as the eye could see, this beautiful scenery was exceptionally enchanting, with everywhere revealing an untouched and untamed atmosphere.

It was like no one had set foot on the treasured land for thousands of years. There were many rare flowers, a strong breeze, and thriving lush flowers.

Many animals that the crowd could not name appeared before their eyes in a flash. The rush of animals even brought out a bunch of colorful glints.

"Mirage Island..." The old Mage looked on with solemness on his face. Even a Mage like him could feel his scalp turn numb when looking at this island. 

“Set sail! Target, hidden island!” The captain of the ship issued a variety of orders in an orderly manner. However, before the people on the ship could do anything, uneasy emotions began to rise in everyone’s hearts. 

The originally calm sea suddenly gave birth to waves and the ship was trapped in a sea of water bubbles. The sea’s surface looked like it was boiling. “What happened?” Someone asked in a panic.

The old Mage's dignified look suddenly changed as he exclaimed. “Be careful!” The sound of his cry was barely heard when the left side of the ship rushed into a wave and tentacle-like things suddenly emerged from the sea. 

The tentacles were extremely large, up to tens of meters long, and contained a tremendous force that directly hit the deck of the ship. Several of the ordinary people that couldn’t dodge were smashed like clay on the spot.

Accompanied by a loud noise, the deck shattered into pieces that flew in four directions. The crew members, under the support from the old Mage, attacked the tentacles with their weapons.

However, no matter the type of attack, the tentacles suffered no damage. Even the old Mage didn’t have any methods to harm them.

On the other side of the ship, there was a tentacle in the sky that mercilessly smacked down on the stern. The forty-something meter long ship’s end rose in the air.

The violent shock meant that everyone lost their balance. The ordinary people who were heading towards their funerals panickedly fled.

"Remain calm! Don't panic!" The old Mage tried to appease the situation, but to no avail. Even he began feeling a sense of danger in his heart.

Seven or eight tentacles stretched out from the sea at the same time. They went directly into the ship, dragging the ship into the sea. As the tentacles exerted their gigantic strength, everyone could feel themselves rapidly sinking.

"We're all going to die!"

"I can't die yet!"

"Somebody save me!"

"Help, I'm being dragged off!" 

"We should never have come here!"

The old Mage could see the ship being torn apart mercilessly, and he gave up any notion of protecting it anymore. He turned to the youth close by and spoke in a panicked voice.

"My Lord, I'm afraid that we're unable to escort you to the island. Would you-" Seeing that the youth was completely unfased by the chaos around him, the old man was thinking of asking him for help.

The youth turned around and, with an emotionless expression, opened his mouth. "You should probably watch out behind you." 

The old Mage's visage looked stunned as he felt the wind of an incoming blow coming from behind him. Immediately, his back was severely injured from the blow. His entire person became like a thunderbolt as he fell into the sea like a meteorite.

Not even waiting for him to fall into the sea, the tentacle struck out from the sea and accurately rolled him up.

The old Mage issued a violent scream from his mouth. His body emitted cracking sounds of bones being broken and fractured. 

He strived to free himself, but he couldn’t escape the tentacle’s grasp. He extended a hand towards to the youth in front of him and sadly shouted. "My Lord, please save me!"

This tentacle monster quickly prevailed over him in this short period of time. He naturally did not have any chance of victory.

The youth looked at the old Mage for a moment before extending his hand towards him. That is, towards the spatial ring on the Mage's finger. Grabbing it, he easily tore off the man's finger as well.

"Since you didn't bring me to the island, I'll be taking back my payment." The youth said before turning his back to the old man again. "You son of a bitch!!!" The old Mage roared with despair.

After he shoted, the old Mage’s body immediately got split into two. All his organs spattered about as his blood exploded all around; leaving only a single eyeball, which fell into the sea.

Noah calmly took out his skull cross artifact and chanted an incantation. "Chain Explosion." Three powerful explosions decimated the remainder of the ship as a figure clad in a red barrier flew through the air like a cannon ball.

*Boom!* Noah landed on a beach and dusted off his clothes. "Mirage Island, I'm finally here." With a smile, Noah uncovered his left sleeve, showing off the small seven-colored snake around his arm.

Monsters and Monster Race members possessed beastial instincts that could vaguely describe the threat they might face from anyone around them.

Usually, powerful monsters would immediately attack a Mage like Noah if they were stronger than him. However, they didn't. It was because they could feel that the small seven-colored snake around his arm possessed terrifying power, way beyond something they could handle!

The powerful monsters didn't move out to attack. They would leave Noah alone for fear of being killed by the sleeping small snake. Noah only has to ignore them; and he would face no trouble on this island.

This was also the reason why the tentacle monster from the deep sea didn't attack him. It too was scared of provoking a stronger monster than it.

Noah walked on the island for the entire day, constantly releasing his mana sense in the surroundings. Finally, when the moon hung high in the sky, he arrived at the very center of the island.

He could see big stone doors standing there imposingly, and on them was a symbol all too familiar to Noah. Three eyes connected into a triangle. "Here it is..." Noah exclaimed as he placed his hand on the stone door.

*Rumble!* With a loud rumbling sound, the stone door opened, revealing a dark cave. Noah didn't immediately go inside, instead taking out the demonic spellbook. "Noah my friend, what is it?" 

"Scout out this cave for any possible traps." Noah ordered, and Niolo obediently flew inside. After a few hours, the demon soul flew back outside. "No traps, surprisingly. I could also feel a big amount of mana present inside."

Noah nodded and stored Niolo inside the demonic spellbook again. Moving inside, the cave was not straight, but seemed to spiral downward. From in front of him, Noah could feel that the density of mana in the cave was indeed bigger than outside.

This feeling grew as he moved further down. He could now see what lied behind the stone door. He arrived at a huge and spacious cave, whose walls were dotted with a trace of light, giving it a magnificent style.

On both sides of the path, there were rows of stone shelves all with many layers, each layer holding some closed metal boxes. Noah walked forward, arriving in front of a stone shelf, and with the aid of the weak light observed what was on top.

"Blood Witch Sect, The Blood Armor Art."

"Azure Wood Sect, The Wood Protection Array."

"Alchemist Guild, ten High Grade potions."

"Armament Crafting Sect, The Armament Crafting Manual."

Noah read the words that were carved in stone above the metal boxes on the stone shelves. He couldn't help but be impressed each time. "All of these things belong to powerful factions of the past. Many of these don't even exist anymore..."

There were many more small boxes on the stone shelves, close to forty. Noah didn't need to read them to know that they all housed some important arts or formations of extinct factions.

After thoroughly inspecting that there was no tracking imprint on any of these things, Noah read them all one by one. After memorizing all of them, he burned them to ashes.

"Thousand Faces has not betrayed my expectations, all of these things are incredibly valuable, and I may even be able to use some of them in this Era!" Noah smiled as he turned his attention to a passage nearby. 

Thousand Faces was a man who stole all over the world, naturally this much loot wouldn't be the only things he left behind. This was only the first room.


	156. Chapter 156

Walking through the passage and turning around a corner, Noah found himself in another stone room, this time longer and filled with a purple glow, seemingly dieing the room purple. Seeing the source of the purple glow, Noah smiled. 

This room was filled with mana crystals of all grades. He could count twenty million low grade crystals, ten million middle grade crystals, and what he was most happy about, fifty eight thousand high grade crystals and a thousand highest grade crystals. 

His gaze didn't stop on the low and middle grade crystals even for a moment, he already had around a hundred million crystals. But in terms of the precious high grade and highest grade crystals, that number was low. 

"With these crystals here and the three thousand highest grade crystals I gained from the Botelli Family, I'm confident in being able to finish the first of the Five Art Paintings all at once." 

Noah couldn't allow himself to spend crystals carelessly. Even before he received Dominic Long's Five Art Paintings, these crystals were intended to be used to finance the faction he would create in the future. 

Even with all six of Thousand Faces' treasure vaults combined, Noah theorized that they would not be enough for him to complete the last painting, perhaps not even the second last. 

For that reason, there was no need to rush and splurge all the crystals in his possession now. He would complete the first painting, and then wait for a while before deciding. 

After grabbing all the mana crystals in this room, Noah continued on to the next. Right now, the passage in front of him forked into multiple paths. There were words carved on the wall that indicated where each of the paths led. 

'Artifact room', 'Medicine Room', 'Material Room' 'Living Quarters', 'Recipe Room'. Soon, two words on the wall caught Noah's attention immediately. One of the paths was labeled as 'Earth Vein'. "Earth Vein?!" Noah looked at the words in shock. 

An Earth Vein was an underground river of pure, undiluted mana so thick that a Mage might as well be swimming in it as he moved inside there. Noah's brain immediately started working as he quickly walked the path towards the Earth Vein. 

At the end of the path, Noah could see a big door made of metal alloy similar to bronze. He quickly opened it and looked inside. At the other end of the door, there was a dense pure fog, gushing with mana visible to the naked eye. Immediately, Noah's face fell. 

"This pitiable amount of mana... It must be an Earth Vein that is close to completely drying up. What a shame." If this was an Earth Vein in good condition, Noah was confident in being able to breakthrough to General Rank immediately, and perhaps even to middle General Rank all in one go. 

But the amount of mana in this Earth Vein was at best enough to get someone to peak Paragon Rank. For the current Noah, this was of little value. "Oh well, I'll absorb it later." 

Closing the door shut again, Noah moved on towards the Artifact Room. Entering inside, his eyes squinted a little under the blinding light of many artifacts put on display in this room. 

"This... Isn't this the War Wolf King's Claw of the Wolf God? It's said to be a holy weapon of the Werewolf Tribe and is their most prized possession that drew them to insanity once they lost it..." 

"This is the Golden Saint Plate of the Church of Light. Ten golden drops of nectar will be produced every year when it's placed under the sun, which can prolong a Paragon Rank Mage's life by thirty years for five times."

"This is the Cursed Eye of the Progenitor. Thousand Faces was truly fearless, he even stole from the Kindred." Noah looked at over a dozen artifacts, some of which he didn't recognize, and those that he did left him surprised.

All of these things belonged to different forces on the continent. While they may not be powerful offensively or even all that useful to Mages of high rank, they still represented the pride of these forces.

Stealing them is equal to outright provocation and declaring war on these forces. Seeing such boldness and knowing that he was never caught, Noah felt a small hint of admiration for Thousand Faces. 

After collecting all the artifacts and storing them, Noah visited the Recipe Room. It was pretty much what he expected; dozens if not hundreds of recipes for all kinds of potions and artifacts stored inside special wooden boxes enchanted with preservation magic.

There were also recipes for creating various minions, like Blood Puppets, Adamantine Golems or Azure Wood Soldiers. Noah read all of them; remembering every last letter before burning them to nothing.

Next up, Noah went to the Materials Room. Inside, there were many precious ores, magical metals melted into bars and even materials for crafting golems and puppets. Any craftsman in the world would go crazy after these materials.

But Noah didn't even see them. Only one item was in his eyes. "It can't be..." He muttered. On a nearby shelf, there was a round green orb the size of a fist. It was dim in light and looked to be of little value.

"A Life Clone Seed! I never thought I would see one in person!" Noah excitedly grabbed the Life Clone Seed and inspected it. A Life Clone Seed was something that allowed a Mage to clone himself. 

This effect wasn't that noteworthy, as there existed plenty of methods and items that could do the same. But the difference was in the level of power the clone could achieve!

With ordinary methods, the clones of Mages could at most reach Paragon and Officer Rank. Methods that could allow a clone to reach General Rank were quite rare and valuable, only big forces possessed such methods.

But the clones created by a Life Clone Seed could progress all the way until Sovereign Rank! They could even surpass the original Mage's Rank! One could see just how valuable one of these is.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Noah. "With this Life Clone Seed, and the Earth Vein... I can actually already have a peak Paragon Rank clone! What good fortune!" After emptying the entire room, Noah quickly went on to the next one.

The last room was the Medicine Room. This one was, unfortunately, the one that yielded the least benefits. It was a room full of medicinal ingredients, but almost all of them were now rotten and devoid of any use.

Over the long period of time that passed since their creation, the preservation spells must've weakened, and the sensitive ingredients became spoiled. There were only five ingredients that looked intact, two of which made Noah surprised.

One was a white plant topped by a large white octagonal flower, the stamen in its center twinkling like ice crystals, without releasing any fragrance. 

The other one looked like cabbage, but was fiery red, and even emitting smoke like an active volcano. "Octagonal Ice Flower and Inferno Apricot. These are both high grade ingredients. I heard that they were extinct."

After taking these remaining ingredients, Noah finished with his tour around the place and went to the living quarters. The living quarters was an ordinary room with a bed, a single table and a chair.

It was probably just a temporary residence of Thousand Faces, so he didn't put too much effort into it. Noah quickly sat down and took out the Life Clone Seed. 

He was thinking about what he could use the clone for. The first option was naturally for Alchemy. Noah would usually have to either brew Grine Water for a few years in front or return to the Primer Family every year and fulfill his quota.

An Alchemist clone could relieve him of that responsibility and earn money at the same time. But Noah didn't count on that option too much.

"The Life Clone Seed can be influenced to create a clone of a different race, but the Elemental affinity will be random. If I get someone of a different Element I can only choose the second option."

The second option would be infiltration. In the next eight hundred years, there would be many different factions that would rise up from nothing to the top of the continent. 

Infiltrating and controlling these factions would be an excellent choice. "Let's look and see." Sitting down on the ground, Noah cut his finger and dripped blood onto the Life Clone Seed.

This would determine the race the clone would be upon manifestation. Next, Noah placed the Life Clone Seed into his arms and sat cross legged. 

He was pouring his mana inside the Life Clone Seed and at the same time absorbing more mana from the surroundings.

Just like a plant, the Life Clone Seed needed to be nourished so that it could grow and produce a clone body. The last step would be to split one's spirit seed and insert it inside the Life Clone Seed.

The Life Clone Seed began releasing green resplendent light as it was filled with mana. Then, a golden spirit seed left Noah's forehead and gradually split into two. One half of the spirit seed retreated back into Noah, while the other half entered the Life Clone Seed.

The Life Clone Seed shivered slightly. It twisted and turned, gradually changing and growing in size. Eventually, it condensed and formed a human figure that looked identical to Noah.

Both in physical appearance and soul fluctuations, it was impossible to tell who was who. The only difference was that the clone was naked and had a smile blossoming on his face, while the other was more or less deadpan.

"Hmm, it's been hundreds of years since I last felt true emotions..." The clone opened his mouth and immediately after changed his expression to a sour one. "What is your attribute?" 

Noah asked while simultaneously throwing some clothes to the clone. The clone inspected himself before responding. "Earth attribute. It looks like I can only choose the second option."

"I see." Noah answered without much change to his expression. He wasn't really expecting for it to go his way regardless. "The good thing is, I still have a golden soul and a two kilometers and one meter mana sense." The clone smiled. 

"Good." Noah nodded. "You should now go and absorb all the mana in that Earth Vein. Also, you should choose a name for yourself." The clone dressed himself and walked out of the room.

Left alone, Noah remained sitting on the stone floor. With a wave of his hand, thousands of mana crystals appeared in front of him.


	157. Chapter 157

At the same time, Noah's clone dressed himself and entered the Earth Vein behind the bronze door. Sitting cross legged, he operated his meditation technique.

The surrounding mana quickly began rushing toward him as if it was being sucked up by a whirlpool. The dense fog began gradually disappearing, and the clone's soul orb was being rapidly filled up with mana.

It took Noah a single year to become a Paragon Rank Mage in this life thanks to his meditation technique and his golden soul, which increased his mana absorption speed. 

However, in this place it would take him a much shorter time, perhaps not even a few days. If any Mage found out about this, Noah's fate would be anything but good.

The soul orb was already begining to grow by a centimeter, immediately surpassing young genius children who spent years practising unceasingly. 

......

Noah sat on the floor surrounded by thousands of high grade mana crystals. He released his pressure and simultaneously crushed all the mana crystals into dust. Immediately, a huge amount of pure mana flooded the room, trying to dissipate in the surroundings.

Noah operated the Five Art Paintings method and began sucking up the mana from the crystals towards him. Glowing dots began appearing behind him, loosely forming a shape of a creature.

As more and more mana was absorbed, the light dots that formed an image behind him became brighter and the image was almost completed. Once it was done, it would mean that the development of the First Painting would be complete.

If someone else was here now, they would see a a strange beast take shape from behind Noah. 

This beast was a huge grey whale with two pairs of horns seemingly creating a crown of horns on it. There were also four huge wings on the whale, allowing it to fly in the air. 

"In the northern ocean there is a whale, I do not know how many thousand miles long it is. The whale can morph into a bird, I do not know how many thousand miles wide its back is. When it flies, its wings cover the sky like clouds."

This was an excerpt from a book Noah once read about fascinating monsters. The one depicted behind him was the Deep Abyssal Whale, a terrifying monster thought to be exterminated long ago. 

The Deep Abyssal Whale was a sea monster that lurked in the deepest parts of the oceans. It was as famous as the Dragons and Phoenixes and was comparable to peak Ruler Rank Mages, and could even contend with Sovereigns.

It could fly in the air at terrifying speed, and was the size of a smaller continent. Every time it opened its mouth, it was able to swallow 15% of the continent's surface.

Right now, the image of the Deep Abyssal Whale completely formed behind Noah, looking very life like, but Noah didn't stop. "Form." He ordered.

The Deep Abyssal Whale image then turned into a ray of light and shot into Noah's body, leaving imprints on his every bone, veins and tendons.

Looking closely, Noah's entire body was covered with light dots, which formed the shape of a flying Deep Abyssal Whale.

After a while, Noah opened his eyes and his pupils looked like two deep black holes. He discovered that a Deep Abyssal Whale drawing was imprinted not only on his body, but also on his soul.

The First Painting of the Five Art Paintings was finally completed!

"The Five Art Paintings illustrate the various powers of the ancient beasts. Whoever completes them will gain the power of these five beasts." Noah opened his mouth and breathed in lightly.

A small cyclone appeared in the room and endless mana was swallowed by Noah, seemingly out of control. In a blink, all the mana in the room was gone. After Noah closed his mouth, the room was once again filled with mana again.

"The swallowing power of the Deep Abyssal Whale is incredible. I heard that a Deep Abyssal Whale was capable of swallowing everything in the world, attacks and living beings included." Noah was excited.

This quasi-innate spell was incredible, and it could even be used to absorb attacks and perhaps reduce their lethality. There was a drawback though, and that was that Noah would suffer 15% of any attack he absorbed as an inner injury.

It wasn't a problem if the attack was small, but if Noah tried to absorb a peak General Rank or Magistrate Rank Mage's attack, then he would definitely explode and die.

But Noah didn't even have any intention of provoking such fearsome enemies in the first place. "My clone is now on the verge of breaking through. I should rest a bit before leaving."

Noah's and the clone's mind were connected and could transmit information among each other. It was even possible for them to communicate with their minds and look through each other's eyes. There were practically two of Noah in this world now. 

......

Sea City was a big port city of the Prisilba Kingdom. It was one of the most profitable cities for the kingdom, as the majority of merchant ships unloaded their cargo here.

A beautiful building made of white marble stood close to the center of the city. It exuded a solemn and holy air, and any ordinary person who passed by at least bowed their heads a little in respect.

This was one of the bigger cathedrals of the Church of Light. Right now, the cathedral was the resting place of the 3d Holy Order. In a guest room sat three young and beautiful women.

"Riera, why would Cardinal Antonio suddenly call for us now? Doesn't he know that we are on a Duty Pilgrimage?" A short girl with pink hair asked while placing her legs on the table.

"In the letter, Cardinal Antonio said that this was a grave incident and that he needs our help. It looks like he also called the 5th and the 7th Holy Order already." A blonde haired nun responded.

The pink haired girl looked surprised. "He did? Just what is it that requires the attention of three Holy Orders?" The nun Riera shook her head. "It doesn't say, but I have already sent a response. We are leaving tomorrow morning."

Suddenly, the wooden door creaked, and a silver haired woman entered somewhat in a daze. "Riera, I would like to borrow some of your men, and at least five Officer Rank Paladins."

Riera and Iris both looked at her somewhat surprised. "Sephilia, why do you need them? Did you find a group of Demons or a cult?" Sephilia shook her head as she sat down.

"Someone I need to kill." She didn't say anything more. Riera and Iris could feel a subtle killing intent and anger in the silver haired woman's eyes. "Is it... the man who destroyed your village?" Riera asked.

It was common knowledge in the Church that Sephilia was just a normal girl before joining, living in a village in the countryside. One day, a group of men butchered the entire village, and only she survived.

She remembered the face of one of those men, and was spending all of her free time to hunt down that man as revenge for what he did. 

Sephilia didn't answer, and Riera didn't continue asking. It was a sensitive subject, and she didn't want to insult Sephilia by continuing to ask. At the same time, Iris laughed.

"Who cares if he is or if he isn't. If you need help, that means that it's definitely some tough bad guy. Count me in." Sephilia glanced at Iris and nodded. The two of them were surprisingly on quite good terms.

Riera looked at the two of them and sighed. For some reason, she did not refuse. "Alright. We were supposed to leave tommorow morning, but I guess we can delay for a few more days. We can use this chance to buy more provisions and rest some more."

Hearing that Riera agreed, Iris smiled and Sephilia nodded before excusing herself. She would need to mobilise her subordinates now. 

Although she looked ice cold on the outside, Sephilia was actually greatly excited and eager. Weeks before, the voice she was hearing stopped coming to her. 

Only yesterday did it appear again, prompting Sephilia to persuade Riera to stay in Sea City. The voice echoed in her mind again. [Go outside the city...] "Outside..." Sephilia listened without question.

She exited the Sea City and walked for an entire hour under the guidance of the voice. She was now in the woods, very close to the sea. [Behind the bushes...] 

The voice echoed again, and Sephilia removed the bushes, finding a white shining spell formation on the ground. If she wasn't led here by the voice she probably wouldn't find it.

Sephilia didn't recognize this spell formation. Just as she was about to inspect it more thoroughly, the voice ordered in her mind. [Destroy it...] Without hesitation, Sephilia slashed with her silver swords at the spell formation, destroying it in a second.

Before the formation was destroyed, defensive spell circles activated, but they were like paper in front of Sephilia's might. *Slash!* Dust rose into the air, and an 'X' shaped slash was carved on the ground.

"I did it." Sephilia talked to herself proudly. [An array... Set up an array...] The voice echoed again, and Sephilia started walking in a certain direction. Shd didn't stop until the voice told her to.

She found herself on a plain surrounded by a few small hills. On the ground lied ten scepters that radiated frightening energy. Sephilia didn't question why these powerful artifacts lied here, silently picking them up and walking in a certain direction. 

After two hours passed, Sephilia returned to Sea City like nothing ever happened. She went to her subordinates and ordered them to prepare for battle. Her subordinates, all of them Paragon Rank assassins, didn't disobey.

At the same time, Riera was observing some documents in front of her as she felt herself dozing off. Her eyes looked dim, and she stood up and left the room.

Outside, Iris was swinging her axe in preparation for a battle. Just then, her expression changed and her eyes dimmed. She left the garden and went to see her subordinates.

......

Inside his mind, Noah seemed to have come to a place.

The surroundings were a grayish blur. Up in the air, there were many lights which seemed like stars, illuminating this place.

Noah lifted his head. In the air were 24 mysterious runes- glowing with a fluorescent light- which gathered to form a circle.

These were the runes that he created with his mind, based on a Paragon Rank spell. Now, these 24 mind runes stuck together, forming into a rune pattern.

In the surroundings, many patterns also appeared. And after the presence of these patterns, the surroundings turned even more resplendent and transparent, as if they were being reinforced.

Noah's clone opened his eyes in the real world. Powerful undulations rushed out of his body in the stone cave. "Paragon Rank!" He exclaimed. The clone didn't stand up, instead continuing to absorb the remaining mana in the Earth Vein.

"Oh, I decided on my name. From now, I'll be known as Ian." Noah, who was resting in the living quarters, opened his mouth. "Ian. Not a bad name."


	158. Chapter 158

[Also, I will now begin the Emotion Severing Ritual. Don't disturb me.] Ian transmitted with his mind. [Wait.] Noah interjected. [I have an interest in seeing what would happen if someone with my bloodline had descendants.]

Ian's eyebrows raised. [You want to see whether they'll be controlled by me as I would be a bloodline source?] Noah nodded in confirmation. 

[I have already purified some of my blood. Ingest it and then go through with the Emotion Severing Ritual, and I'll interrupt you when the time comes.]

"Haha, excellent." Ian walked out of the now empty Earth Vein and sat in front of Noah. Inside, he could see the floor being covered with the bloodline transfer formation.

Noah handed him an epruvete filled with pitch black blood and a knife before leaving in silence. Ian undressed himself naked and sat down on the floor. He used the knife to cut himself all over his body.

......

Ian sat on the stone floor, his eyes closed and his long pitch black hair reaching the floor. He was in a deep state of calm, and he was now evaluating himself. This was the second time he felt this sensation.

His heart was beating fast. Subconsciously, he could tell that he was afraid. Afraid of taking this last step, just like he was all those hundreds of years ago. 

There was also subconscious fear of stronger enemies he would have to fight against. It was just one of many emotions he felt, and it made him feel ashamed and embarrassed. 

Ian scoffed and cleared his mind further. Right now, he found himself in a completely black place, akin to the Void. It was the deepest depth of his mind. He didn't have a body and could only use his eyes.

In front of him were many small pillars of different colors. Without the need to investigate them, he already knew what each of the small pillars represented.

Looking at the pillars, Ian formed a bright sword with his mana sense. "Bright sword that severs the emotions, go." Under his control, the bright sword flew at the pillars, eradicating them one by one.

*Slash!* The first was fear. The small pillar crumbled and broke apart, vanishing into nothing. From now on, Ian would never again feel fear of any kind.

*Slash!* The second was love. No matter how hard anyone might try, they would never be able to chain his heart to them. 

*Slash!* The third was sadness. No loss would ever impact him anymore. *Slash!* Anger followed right after. No one would ever be able to provoke him.

*Slash!* Trust disappeared. No matter who it was, he would always be on guard against them. *Slash!* Next was shame. Even if he walked naked in front of someone, he would feel nothing.

*Slash!* Kindness was destroyed, and no one would receive mercy from him. Pity was next, ensuring that he never underestimates his opponent.

Pride was severed right after, followed by arrogance and vanity. Other's praises would fall on deaf ears. Anxiety was also severed, leaving him perpetually calm.

Jealousy, envy, hatred, loneliness, nervousness, disdain all crumbled and disappeared into nothing. The rest of the emotions weren't destroyed, but the bright sword was guided carefully to crack them. 

The only pillar left was lust. Extremely carefully, the bright sword only created a small crack that spread to a quarter of the pillar. The rest was untouched.

"Excellent." In the real world, Noah smiled seeing everything through Ian's eyes. He lightly bumped Ian, and the blackness inside Ian's mind quickly crumbled into pieces.

*COUGH!* With a loud cough, Ian spewed out a lot of blood, and his eyes, ears and nose also bled. But he wasn't perturbed. Noah handed him a potion and he drank it in a gulp. 

"The backlash from the ritual is indeed great. I'm weakened by at least 60% now." Ian spoke as he wiped the blood off his face. Noah smiled and didn't say anything.

This was the nature of the Emotion Severing Ritual. It was exceedingly simple, as it cost no resources to set up. It allowed a Mage to reach the deepest parts of his mind and destroy the cores of his emotions.

It was just a pity that it could only be used by a Mage for a single time in his life. The Mage would also be unable to leave the depts of his mind until he severs all of his emotions.

You could only leave if you were interrupted mid ritual, although the backlash of doing so would be internal injuries.

It took Ian an entire day to recover. Once he finished, it was time to leave. Without a word, Noah handed him all of his low grade artifacts inside a spatial ring, along with a lot of low and middle grade mana crystals.

The two walked outside to the beach, not provoked by any monster. "Hm? My suction spell formation was destroyed?" Noah activated the suction spell formation, and a reverse 'j' glowed once on his clothes before disintegrating.

"How strange. The defensive magic circles I set up should have protected against any ordinary people and even some weaker Paragon Rank Mages. Who broke it and why?" 

Noah's eyes flickered with a glimmer of surprise and interest. "I originally planned to use it to get back, but I guess I can use this as well." 

A very life like image of the Deep Abyssal Whale appeared behind Noah, looking like a true monster from the ancient times. 

With a loud whistle, the four wings of the Deep Abyssal Whale flapped, raising dust and sand into the air. Noah grabbed Ian and jumped off the ground and into the air.

At the same time, the General Rank monsters all shuddered when the Deep Abyssal Whale image appeared. The seven-colored snake on Noah's arm moved a little and its eyelids twitched.

Noah flew into the air like a bird. From below, one would be able to see a big whale monster glide through the air akin to a fish in water. "Interesting." Noah looked on in awe at the ground below.

The Deep Abyssal Whale quasi-innate spell didn't actually give him the ability to fly, only jump very high and then glide downwards. But even with just a jump, Noah could already see the shore way in the distance.

Not wanting to draw too much attention on himself by landing too close to Sea City, Noah steered himself in the air and flew at the area where he previously set up the suction spell formation.

A frown appeared on his face when he saw an 'X' slash in the place where the suction spell formation was previously set up. "There are no traces of battle here. Someone attacked my formation here on purpose."

A feeling of worry rose in Noah's mind. He couldn't find any Mage that he previously insulted that would track him down and find out the position of the suction spell formation. 

Noah took out a small silver knife out of his spatial ring and slashed at the air. The air in front rippled and twisted, but returned to normal right after. "A space lockdown! Someone locked space here!"

Noah's expression changed to surprise, and a feeling of graveness welled up inside him. After keeping silent for a few minutes, he made a decision. He equipped himself with all of his middle grade artifacts.

He then walked in front, trying to use his Space Element artifact every so often, while Ian stayed behind and chanted in a low voice. "Transmute and move aside." The stone and dirt in front of him seemingly melted into mud and opened a five meter hole.

Ian jumped into the hole and continued casting Transmute spells. As an Earth Element Mage, it was easy for him to manipulate the ground around him. He quickly dug a hole the depth of sixty meters and closed it behind.

This way, he would be able to avoid an Officer Rank Mage's mana sense. Noah, on the other hand, could afford to put his life at little jeopardy because he could ask Queen Medusa for help.

Although Noah never trusted that vicious and moody woman, as long as she didn't know the exact location of the Thawing Spirit Potion, she wouldn't just let Noah die. That was his trump card. 

*Swiiisshh!* Suddenly, an ear piercing noise akin to a scream came from the air. Noah released his mana sense in a second, and could vaguely see a silver spear flashing towards him at an unprecedented speed. 

"What?" Noah's face changed quickly. He could tell that if he was hit by that silver spear, he would instantly die! 

*Boooom!* The spear crashed down, creating an explosion of dust all around. When the cloud of dust was lifted, what was happening inside was revealed. "This is the Silver Saint Spear used by the Church of Light." Noah stood in place several steps away from the spear.

The clothes on his chest were torn off, and a long wound traced from one side of his body to the other, oozing out blood. 

Noah wasn't perturbed; thanks to his Three Thousand Lightning Movement, he successfully dodged the spear aiming at his life.

The wound on his body was merely a surface wound, and it would heal quickly. But what bothered Noah was the reason why he was attacked, and by such a weapon.

Silver Saint Spear was a powerful weapon akin to an artifact once used, and it was only made by the Church of Light for dealing with demons from afar. 

The spear, once shot out of a special cannon, had the power to instantly shred apart an Officer Rank Mage and could greatly harm early General Rank Mages. In the case of demons, even General Rank Demons would die if not careful.

Noah released his mana sense outside, catching sight of a three-meter, white electromagnetic cannon standing on a hill a kilometer away.

Next to the machine stood a brawny man in white armor, looking like a holy knight. A bald man was sitting behind the cannon, looking at Noah in the distance.

Noah picked up the silver spear that was stuck in the ground. The one-meter metal spear had a streamlined body with many runes engraved on it which were giving out blue lights. Its mysterious body was made with silver white metal.

Noah stored the spear into his spatial ring and quickly began rushing over to the hill where the cannon stood. "I don't remember becoming enemies with you in this life, but it would be impolite of me not to reciprocate."

As he was rushing over at top speed, the expression of the bald man changed, and he hurriedly loaded up the next spear into the cannon and took a shot.

*Boom!* A second silver spear flashed through trees like a hot knife through butter, but this time Noah wasn't taken by surprise. The moment the cannon shot the spear, he used the Three Thousand Lightning Movement to get out of the way.

The spear made another great dust cloud rise in the air, and Noah momentarily stopped to pick it up before continuing over. "Don't worry, I'll stop him!" The white knight roared.

He pulled out a blue shield and jumped in Noah's way. "You saved me the time." Noah threw a punch, and the shield caved in and crumbled to pieces. The knight was pushed back, but still mostly unharmed.

Pulling out a sword, the knight slashed at Noah. "Die now." Noah punched again, and the white knight turned into multiple pieces of meat that fell on the ground, spraying blood in the surroundings.

The bald man then inserted the third silver spear into the electromagnetic cannon, but it was too late. Noah had swiftly smashed the electromagnetic cannon into pieces before he could make his third attack.

"Nooo-" The bald man yelled out, and Noah swiftly grabbed him by the face. "Soul-" Suddenly, the bald man stopped resisting at all and looked at Noah with a mocking smile.

Noah's face turned dark. His mana sense discovered two more cannons both a kilometer away on both his left and right. *Boom Boom!* Two silver spears shot at an even faster speed than the previous ones.

The two flashes of silver light struck Noah like two crossed lightnings. Then, a cloud of violent blue electric current appeared in the air as the electromagnetic cannon exploded into parts.

"He's definitely dead now." Two people stood together on a hill three hundred meters away. One of them had long blonde hair and was wearing a white cloak while the other had a bulky body and a war hammer on his back.

"One person works as the bait and two others make the deadly strike. It's just a pity we lost those two..." The blonde haired man clasped his hands and recited a short prayer.

"A necessary sacrifice, but brave regardless." The bulky man praised. "I also have to commend that dark Mage. The Silver Saint Spears can usually only be dodged by General Rank Mages. Commendable..." He gazed with pity.

"We should report this to Lady Riera, she made such a fuss about an ordinary dark Mag-" The blonde haired man's words got stuck in his throat. Both of their eyes widened.


	159. Chapter 159

"To think that they would use three of these cannons and sacrifice one without hesitation, just what did I do to them?" When the dust cloud completely fell down, the two men saw something shocking.

Noah was standing in the middle of the two cross crossed Silver Saint Spears. Two bleeding wounds traced from his back and chest, seemingly looking like he was cut in half.

In fact, without Noah's use of Three Thousand Lightning Movement, that really would be the end result. Thankfully, the electromagnetic cannons didn't have speed surpassing General Rank Mages, otherwise Noah would've died already.

"Poor Church, they'll lose three cannons today." Noah immediately rushed over to a cannon on the right. Seeing that he was still alive, the gunner's face changed. Fear and panic were written all over his face. He hurried to reload the cannon, but he was too slow.

"I'm here!" A man with a long ponytail jumped in front of Noah and stabbed at him with a rapier. "No one cares." With a swing of a fist, the man exploded into a bunch of flesh. 

"Oh no, the two cannons are in danger!" The two men on the hill top recovered from their shock. "Nick, I'll stall him. Call over a Templar Squad." The man with a war hammer flashed by and ran at Noah.

The other man looked behind once and ran off into the distance immediately. By that time, Noah had already arrived at the second cannon and smashed it with a punch.

The cannoneer was swiftly torn to shreds. *Swiiisshh!* A silver spear flew by, and Noah had already moved a few steps away. *Boom!* The spear struck into the ground, forming a crater.

"No matter how destructive a weapon may be, it's useless if it can't hit its target." Noah quickly stored the spear and ran at the third and last cannon. Suddenly, a man with a war hammer reached Noah from the side.

"Titanium Skin Art!" The man's muscles bulged and became silver in color. His size grew to three meters, and an oppressive air rumbled out, making him look like an invincible titanium giant.

"Go and play giants in the corner." Noah merely glanced at the man and sent out a punch. *Crack!* The war hammer in the man's hands cracked all over before exploding to pieces. The man himself was thrown to the side like a ragdoll.

*Swiiisshh!* Another silver spear was flying towards Noah. Suddenly, the man could see Noah completely disappear from his vision before appearing several steps away. [What crazy speed! What is he pract-]

*Boom!* The spear crashed at the ground, and the man exploded into pieces of flesh and blood. Noah ran over and picked up the spear before continuing to rush over.

"What have I done?! I killed Sir Nick!" The cannoneer realized what just happened, and began despairing. He even forgot to load the cannon again. "Nice shot." Noah punched the man into pieces before swiftly turning the cannon into scrap metal.

Finally, a man with blonde hair arrived, behind him over a dozen men wearing white metal armor. Each soldier held a different kind of weapon. There were long blades, double swords, axes and hammers.

Those well trained soldiers worked as a formidable team and encircled Noah. "Templars." Noah scanned the retinue with an icy glance.

Templars are powerful soldiers of the Church of Light, specially enhanced with a multitude of drugs to increase their physical performance. If they are armed with suitable weapons and armor, they can even contend with Officer Rank Mages for a while.

"Over a dozen Templars and three electromagnetic cannons. I really am fighting a bigger enemy than I thought." Noah's eyes glinted and looked impassive.

Since the moment he found the electromagnetic cannons, Noah began thinking about the size of the force he was facing. 

The electromagnetic cannons aren't just something found everywhere, and they most certainly aren't used by a bunch of small fries like before.

His only enemy could be a Holy Order. [But why would a Holy Order of all things waste time attacking a single unknown Mage like me?] As he thought to himself, Noah began fighting the Templars.

*Bam!* A punch landed on a nearby Templar, and he was pushed backwards. Although a metal fist mark appeared on his chest plate, the punch didn't knock him out.

The Templar grunted and stumbled a little, but quickly rushed back into battle. Although the attack had hit him hard, and his body had already been left trembling, it wasn't a big deal to him.

"As I thought." Noah gave up on having a frontal confrontation with the Templars. It would expend too much energy from him. "As an Officer of magic, I command thee, Permafrost!" 

A chilly gale enveloped the surrounding Templars, and their movements slowed down. Frost began forming on their bodies by the second, and the metal armors emitted ear piercing creaking sounds before breaking.

The Templars stood in place, now just a dozen ice statues. "W-what the hell?!" The blonde man couldn't help but exclaim. [One spell? Just one was all it took?! That's impossible!]

Templars might be of lesser importance than the Paladins, but this didn't mean that they weren't invested in. They were Warriors training in body enhancement arts, and were protected by specially crafted armor.

All of their armors were created to reduce damage from Paragon and Officer Rank spells.

With their armor, Templars could reduce damage from Officer Rank spells up to at least 40%, which would allow their tough bodies to survive. Theoretically, a soldier with such armor could have defeated thousands of enemies.

However, they were extremely defenseless and fragile against this one Mage. How was that possible? [Is he an injured General Rank Mage? There's no way that this guy is an Officer Rank!]

Fear filled the blonde man's eyes. The only reason why he even survived right now was because he was way in the back. Right then, Noah's eyes landed on him, and a dark premonition washed over him.

"I have to ask lady Riera for help!" The man pulled out a small token out of his robes and crushed it. Blue light enveloped him, and he began teleporting. Noah didn't stop him.

He stood in place and emptied his mind, regaining his mana. Naturally, a single spell wouldn't waste much of his mana, but since there was a great chance Noah could be going against one of the Holy Orders, he had to be at his peak.

With a flash, the blonde man disappeared, and Noah released his mana sense. Five hundred meters away from him, the blonde man reappeared and took out a small diary. 

"A single use teleportation artifact, must've been a lucky find..." Now at his peak, Noah delved into the shadows, no longer on the material plane.

The blonde haired man finished talking with someone on the other side and quickly began running in a certain direction. Noah followed closely behind.

After fifteen minutes, the blonde haired man arrived at a plain surrounded by a few hills. On the hills were four groups, each numbering in hundred and twenty five people each, making for an astounding five hundred people.

Those people were split into Priests, Templars, Mages and Assassins. On top of that, there were also ten Officer Rank Mages, and three young women at the front. Right now, the blonde haired woman fell into a daze.

"Activate the array." She ordered. "Lady Riera, why do we need to activate the array? There's nothing here." One of the Officer Rank Mages asked. "He's coming." Riera answered solemnly. 

The blonde haired man now arrived on the plain, and waved towards the people standing in the distance. "Fuu, safe." Just as he exhaled in relief, a hand pierced through the man's chest and grabbed his heart.

"Cough... How..." The blonde haired man coughed out blood and looked at Noah standing behind him. Noah wasn't even looking at him, and threw him aside like a piece of garbage.

The people on the hills looked at Noah killing their comrade, and killing intent welled up in their eyes. "A Dual Element Mage. You are certainly powerful." Riera suddenly spoke to Noah.

Hearing her, the surrounding people sucked in a breath of cold air. "A Dual Element Mage? That's so rare. Is he a big shot from some big force?"

"Who knows, and I don't care. He's a dark Mage nonetheless." 

"He's powerful. We shouldn't underestimate him. Have Priests be on standby in case he calls for a Demon." The Officer Rank Mages talked among themselves. Noah looked at them and immediately knew who they were.

[The ten Mages from the Dragon Phoenix Palace. So are they attacking me because of the Dragon Phoenix Palace?] Noah removed his gaze from them and looked at the three women in front.

He recognized all of them. "To think that I would be hunted by the famous 'Nun Princess' Riera, the 'Savage Dwarf' Iris and 'Silver Sephilia'. What an honor." Noah showed perfect noble etiquette as he bowed.

"Could I know why I'm being attacked by the entire 3rd Holy Order? I don't remember ever clashing against the Church." Riera looked coldly at Noah as she responded. "True. You never clashed against us."

"But you are someone who must die for the world." Hearing her answer, Noah's expression showed surprise before darkening. [World Will. But I thought that it was asleep. The three years clearly ran out, so why?]

"I see. So there is no way for us to resolve this peacefully?" He asked. Riera shook her head adamantly, and Iris brandished her axe while smiling. Sephilia looked at Noah with unbridled hatred.

"Only if you give yourself up and allow yourself to be incarcerated in the Judgement Tower and repent. Otherwise, you'll die here." Surprisingly, Riera spoke again, granting Noah some mercy.

"No." Sephilia opened her mouth, and an icy voice resounded. "He must die." Iris nodded and laughed. "Haha, Riera you're too soft on these evil doers. They only learn once they're smashed!"

Noah sighed and muttered to himself. "What a pity. And you were supposed to push back a Kindred invasion hundred years later."

He raised his head and eyed Riera in the middle. "Lady Riera, I implore you to think about it again. You already lost three electromagnetic cannons. You will certainly be punished for that. Why make it worse?"

"You will not shake my will. You have two options; surrender and repent in the Judgement Tower, or die." Riera resolved herself and pointed her spear at Noah. 

"What a shame." Noah's voice turned cold at the end. "Then today, I will wipe out the 3rd Holy Order from this world!"


	160. Chapter 160

Suddenly, particles of light began slowly falling onto the ground as far as the eye could see. Noah's brows furrowed. [A formation. Shadow Element spells are useless now...]

The members of the Church of Light felt the light particles fall on them, and they erupted with powerful might. 

The Templars' bodies surged with power, the Mages felt like they were blessed with infinite mana, and Assassins felt like their speed was ten times faster than before.

Riera, Iris and Sephilia also felt power surging inside them. The ten Mages from behind were encircled by light barriers as they closed their eyes and prayed.

Noah watched all this without emotion. [This is going to be more troublesome than I expected. They are a bit too prepared.] Noah quickly understood what this array does.

It was an array with multiple effects. Just like all arrays, it formed an invisible dome that imprisoned everything inside. You could only exit if the barrier was broken or if the source was destroyed.

Secondly, this array could weaken the power of Shadow Element spells, including Noah's innate spell Shadow Armor. Beings like Demons, Evil Spirits, Kindred and Zombies would also be suppressed.

And finally, it can increase the power of the people inside, in this case the Church members. However, Noah was thinking about something else. 

[An array needs high grade artifacts to be set up. Where did the 3rd Holy Order get ten high grade artifacts?] His gaze fell on the Officer Rank Mages, who were acting as the core of the array.

"Then allow me to begin." Noah rushed straight at the enemy in front of him. His goal were the ten Mages who were now helpless and couldn't defend themselves. 

Killing them meant that the array would disappear, and he wasn't the only one that knew that. "Attack!" Riera ordered, staying back to protect the ten Mages. Sephilia disappeared from sight.

"Hahaha, let's have some fun, dark Mage!" Iris jumped into the air straight at Noah. Thanks to the influence from the barrier, her strength skyrocketed to the quasi General Rank!

Noah jumped into the air and threw a punch with his entire strength. His fist and the axe clashed against each other. The sound of an explosion was heard in midair

*Boom!* Noah's physical strength was only barely equivalent to an Officer Rank Warrior after all, so his strength was weaker than Iris's. He was smacked down into the ground and a giant pit appeared.

Riera took the opportunity to attack. She clicked a button on her silver spear, and a blue firebird appeared in the sky above her and flew towards Noah. The firebird had no temperature, but Noah seemed to be slightly serious.

[This is a special property of her artifact, it can cast an Ice Element spell 'Cold Spirit Fire'. With the array's boost, its might is comparable to a quasi General Rank spell!] Noah chanted a spell.

"As an Officer of magic, I command thee, Tidal Fire!" Following his chant, a wave of fire spewed upwards like liquid at the approaching Cold Spirit Fire. The two attacks clashed, and the temperature constantly fell and rose.

"A Triple Element Mage!" Riera looked stunned. Even the surrounding Templars looked on in shock. Triple Element Mages were beyond rare. To see someone like this in their lifetime can be counted as great luck.

"What a shame." Riera sighed. The air was filled with red and blue flames and the firebird chirped. The red flames were punched through, but not without doing some damage. 

The power of the blue flames was decreased by around a half. "Just enough." Noah, who was pushed back several steps, showed a smile. He stretched out his hand at the approaching blue flames, and waved them away!

The blue flames suddenly seemed to be under his control as they twisted and shot at the Templars all around. "Aahhh!" The Templars used the power of their bodies to resist the freezing flames from killing them.

Their movements halted, and frost formed all over them. Nevertheless, this merely slowed them down. "Thanks to the array, all of them are now quasi Officer Ranks. In that case, have some more."

Noah chanted again, and countless ice spikes shot at the Templars. Now slowed down, the Templars were incapable of properly dodging. Over twenty Templars were pierced by the ice spikes, dying in a moment.

"Fire Ball!"

"Wind Blade!"

"Earth Crush!"

"Water Tornado!"

A torrent of spells rained down on Noah. He didn't dare take them on lightly, so he quickly formed a several meter thick ice wall. The spells crashed into the ice wall, causing innumerable cracks to spread on it.

"Let me!" Iris rushed at the ice wall. She had waited for a perfect opportunity, and it came. Her axe became surrounded by purple lightning which she then smashed at Noah.

*Bang!* The ice wall broke apart. Noah noticed that the power of the hammer became smaller and punched out with his right hand. 

*Dong!* There came the sound of a giant bell. It sounded as if two giant bells collided. The ground started to collapse and Noah's feet went down. In the end, he was viciously flung backwards like a ragdoll.

Iris fared a lot better, she was only sent flying for a dozen steps. The surrounding Templars and Mages didn't miss this chance and began pummeling at Noah.

*Bam!* With a punch, a Templar was flung backwards, but three others immediately took his place. At the same time, they would coordinate between each other, pushing Noah back and letting Mages bombard him with spells.

Although Noah was powerful and his body was strong, he struggled to fight back when facing waves after waves of enemies. At last, he spurted out blood and fell back.

A shadow seemingly flashed behind him, and slashed with two silver swords. It was Sephilia, and she was biding her time to launch a killer move. From this distance, and from his injuries, he had no way to dodge.

Or that was what she thought. *Slash!* An 'X' slash seemingly cut apart air itself, and blood flew everywhere. Sephilia's eyes looked on in bewilderment. What she cut apart was not Noah, but a nearby Templar!

"Did you really think I would notice that you were gone?" Noah grabbed another Templar and threw him at Sephilia. With great ease, Sephilia tried to push aside the Templar as gently as possible, but this left her preoccupied for a moment.

*Bam!* Noah punched Sephilia straight into her stomach, knocking her backwards. Sephilia looked enraged, but she didn't attack, instead pulling backwards.

Noah knew why, and he grabbed the fallen Templar and raised him in front. "Noo! Aaarrggh!" The salvo of spells crashed into him and killed him instantly. Noah threw the Templar aside and lounged himself at the rest.

As time passed, Riera's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Noah's method of using Templars as meat shields was greatly useful for blocking spells thanks to their armor. The number of Templars kept falling as time went on.

"He's good. Standing against so many people yet still fighting like that..." Although Noah's body was filled with scars and injuries and his clothes were torn in many places, it didn't impact his fighting ability at all.

"Assassins!" On Riera's command, a hundred Assassins dressed in white outfits rushed in the midst of the Templars while carrying poisoned daggers. Noah's face darkened, and he tried to pull back, only to be surrounded.

Right now, the Assassins were almost in the range of their throwing daggers, when Noah's face showed a smile. Riera immediately felt a bad premonition and was just about to yell, when Noah pulled out a necklace made of beast teeth.

Suddenly, over a dozen beast illusions formed around Noah, swinging their claws at everyone around them. The Templars and Assassins emitted shrieks as they were torn to shreds by the beast illusions.

"Pull back! Don't approach him!" Riera shouted but it was useless. The originally hundred Assassins were now culled down to a measly twenty, and the Templars weren't faring any better.

They might be tougher now under the influence of the array, but a middle grade artifact is not something that they can take on and survive. The few lucky ones only lost their arms and retreated. 

"You bastard!" Iris flew into a rage and smashed down at Noah with her battle axe. At the same time, Noah could see Sephilia waiting nearby with his mana sense. 

Noah smiled and took out a pair of triangle earrings. The two earrings emmited green light and formed a sturdy barrier around him. At the same time, he redirected the beast illusions at Sephilia.

"Tyrannical Behemoth Art!" Iris bellowed, and her muscles began bulging and growing. In a matter of moments, her petite girly body gave way to a bulky and sturdy one. She seemed to have grown into a mini giant made of muscle.

[Tyrannical Behemoth Art? Isn't that an art used by the Dwarven Royal Family? Could it be that she...] A wave of deadly premonition washed over Noah, and he dispelled the beast illusions. 

He activated the triangle earrings to the fullest, and the green barrier intensified in light. With a beastial roar, Iris smashed her battle axe into the green barrier, creating cracks instantly. 

The triangle earrings showed signs of cracking, and after a few moments, they broke into fragments. Noah used his left hand to form a fist and punch at the battle axe.

*Baang!* With another clash, Noah was sent flying like a kite with its strings cut, and all bones in his left fist were cracked and on the verge of breaking. 

But Noah didn't care. He was going to land right in the middle of one of the Mage squads on the hills. His lips moved, and Riera noticed that. Her eyes widened. [Oh no, I forgot that he is also a Fire Element Mage!]

"Move away immediately!" Just as her warning fell, Noah finished chanting. "Chain Explosion!" The Mages and Priests on the hill didn't even have time to react properly, when three powerful explosions engulfed them!

*Booom Booom Booom!* Riera could do nothing but watch as an entire hill was engulfed into fire. After what seemed to be a suicidal charge, a shadow burst out of the smoke. It was Noah, and he was now clad in a blood red barrier.

Regardless, his skin was now charred black on many places, and the wounds that were on their way to recovering spurted out blood without stopping. He looked like a lump of bleeding coal.

"Damn you!" Riera's cold face finally showed anger, and she slashed at Noah. Iris and Sephilia were also rushing at him. It would take them at most ten seconds before joining the battle and killing Noah.

"I admit that you are a lot stronger than I thought, but this is the end, fiend!" Riera's eyes shone with killing intent, however she suddenly felt a bad premonition. In this situation, where everyone else would despair, Noah smiled!

Indeed, with a smile, Noah waved his hand and a War Horn appeared in his hand. He gripped the War Horn in his right hand and broke it! In a moment, a belligerent mist enveloped the entire plain.

The belligerent mist suddenly gained solidity and turned into countless soldiers and knights with shiny armors and sharp blades, all of them radiating power of Paragon Rank Mages!

Riera's face fell as she figured out what Noah intended to do. He was going for the defenceless Officer Rank Mages! "Sephilia, Iris! Quickly, help me!" Although unwilling, the two women had to abandon Noah and protect the Mages.

"Just as I thought." Noah picked up speed and arrived at the second of the four hills. There, the Mages and Priests were already too preoccupied with the golden soldiers to be able to defend themselves.

"As an Officer of magic, I command thee, Chain Explosion." Three huge explosions enveloped the second hill, and yet again, everyone on it died. "No!" Riera yelled out.

She was practically on the brink of crying tears of blood. This monster in front of her has time and time again evaded certain death and has now managed to kill close to three hundred people, alongside destroying three electromagnetic cannons.

This was a horrible loss for the 3rd Holy Order. Right now, Riera wanted nothing else but to skin Noah alive and lock him up into the lowest level of the Judgement Tower for eternity.

"Haah haah..." A badly battered and bruised figure exited the smoke. Noah himself wasn't in too good of a condition. 

The bones in his left hand were cracked and would break with the next punch, he was burned all over, and the many wounds he sustained were open and spurting out even more blood.

A wave of fatigue washed over him. "So this is my current limit?" There were still two hundred people remaining, and most importantly, 13 Officer Rank Mages which were the real backbone of the 3rd Holy Order.

"That's right. There's no time to rest just yet." With that, Noah began running again. His target were the Mages and Priests on the third hill. 

At the same time, Ian was constantly casting Transmute spells underground, slowly but surely making his way there...

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't think we can win like this with two hundred people alive." Riera spoke solemnly as she slayed hordes of the golden soldiers like swatting flies.

Sephilia's and Iris's expressions changed. "So we have no choice..." Riera nodded solemnly before turning around. "Please help us." The Officer Rank Mages surrounded by light barriers smiled and began praying.

Magic circles made of light enveloped them, and their bodies began rapidly aging. From middle aged men, they became white haired and sunken. 

At the same time, the sky warped and twisted, becoming golden in color. The golden light converged to form a shape of a huge magic circle dozens of meters long.

It was the only thing left in the sky. In a blink, Noah was in unprecedented danger and he stood there startled. Such a terrifying energy was really devastating!

Everyone couldn't help but to close their eyes. The world seemed to be enveloped in a horrific energy that could easily crush seemingly anything. The energy even ran through Noah like a lightning bolt and clashed on the ground.

*BRAAANGG!* An ear piercing explosion ensued, and everyone covered their ears lest their eardrums burst. No one dared to open their eyes and look at what happened.

Finally, once the explosion stopped and everyone's ears recovered, they looked on in shock. A giant bottomless hole was now in place were Noah was previously, and the array outside seemed to be glittering.

"Is he dead?" Someone yelled. Faced with such a terrifying explosion that contained half the might of a General Rank spell, any Officer Rank would die, much less the already injured Noah!

Everyone looked over with excitement and saw an unbelievable sight. Their faces changed instantly. *Whoosh!* After the dust lifted, they saw a yellow cocoon floating above the pit.

There was a strange beast in the cocoon. The beast was thirty meters long and it suddenly opened its eyes with a terror inducing look.

The Deep Abyssal Whale form of the Five Art Paintings.

It finally appeared!


	161. Chapter 161

The Deep Abyssal Whale form slowly opened up the cocoon and, like a butterfly, released its four wings with a mighty whistle. Everyone present was at a loss for words.

"Impossible!" Riera exclaimed somewhat desperately. She and the two women close by couldn't believe their eyes. Noah survived such a powerful attack. 

What was his body made of? Did he use some secret treasure? And what was this weird whale with bird wings? Why was it standing behind Noah?

"What is that?" Iris asked. For the first time, she felt threatened by the whale in midair. This was the first time she had seen something like this.

"I thought it was a contracted familiar, but this whale... it isn't alive. It's an energy construct. It has to be something created by an artifact." Sephilia spoke calmly, though inside she was anything but.

This Mage in front of them was even tougher to kill than a Demon. Even with the help from the array, three hundred people died by his hands, and three electromagnetic cannons were also lost.

Although he suffered injuries, he still didn't show any signs of slowing down or escaping. The remaining Templars and Mages felt fear while looking at such a monster, and for the first time, thoughts about retreating surfaced in their minds.

"I barely survived that. If the power of that attack was at General Rank I'm afraid I would've already turned to dust." Noah finally looked up.

There was a glint of viciousness in his eyes, and he once again decided to exterminate everyone present here today. He raised his hands.

*Whoosh!* The image of the Deep Abyssal Whale flapped its wings, creating a torrent of wind and raising dust everywhere. "Dammit, he can still fight!" 

Riera quickly composed herself and turned her attention to the troops whose morale was now steadily lowering. "Return to formation! The enemy is injured, this is definitely his last card! If we survive this, we can kill him!"

The troops felt reassured after hearing that and grouped up again. Priests rapidly cast Light Element spells to heal the wounds of the injured. In a few moments, the remaining two hundred people formed two groups.

"She saw through it. Smart." Noah praised. Indeed, with the level of his injuries, keeping up the Deep Abyssal Whale form is impossible. It would naturally disappear after a short period of time. But that time was enough for Noah. 

"Holy Ray!"

"Earth Crush!"

"Fire Ball!"

"Water Tornado!"

The Mages chanted like crazy, firing another salvo of spells at Noah. Iris again erupted with tyrannical power, and turned into a giant made of muscle. "Mercury Body Art!" Riera pressed another button on her spear and frightening lightning bolts enveloped the spear.

At the same time, Riera's body changed color to silver, and even her clothes became shining liquid metal. Two wings formed on her back, making her look like a metal valkyrie.

"Physical Enhancement, activate!" Sephilia yelled out, and her entire body immediately turned black like charcoal. The veins all over her body bulged to the surface, and even her eyes became bloodshot.

Everyone was going all out. Then, Noah moved. The Deep Abyssal Whale form gently flapped its wings, and immediately flashed a hundred meters. For a moment, no one could track him with their eyes.

*Swish!* The Deep Abyssal Whale's wing slashed like a sword, and the closest of the Templars suddenly let out screams. Their bodies had been split in half. 

The Templars, who possessed almost invincible toughness below Officer Rank, and were now boosted to quasi Officer Rank, were as weak as paper before these wings.

Immediately, over twenty Templars and and ten Mages were mercilessly cut to shreds. "Damn you, fiend!" Riera yelled out in rage. The metal wings on her back flapped, and like a war goddess, she shot towards Noah's heart.

This powerful and quick attack was enough to kill most Officer Rank Mages without protective artifacts, and with the help of the array, the attack was even more deadly. Noah looked at her and smiled.

Another wing extended and slashed at Riera with incredible speed. Before she could even react, Riera was split in half and pushed backwards. However, after a few seconds, her body made of liquid metal began patching itself up again.

By that point, Noah had already flew into the ranks of the Mages and Priests, slaughtering everyone close to him. Dozens died by the second, and the remaining troops were too terrified to attack.

"W-what the hell is he? How can someone survive all these attacks and still fight like that?"

"A monster! He's a monster!"

"We can't win! Even Lady Riera is not his match! There's no way we can survive!"

"Run! Everyone for themselves!"

"Run! The monster is coming!"

As Noah finished slaughtering one of the groups, less than a hundred people remained, their morale at rock bottom. Seeing so many of their comrades die like flies made these people regard Noah as a worse monster than even Demons.

Consequently, the Mages and a remaining few Templars decided to run away. Even if their commanders survive against this monster, it didn't mean that they would. They didn't want to throw their lives away.

"Stop! Can't you that he's gravely injured?! We just need to persevere for some time and we'll win!" Riera yelled after the escaping troops, but her words fell on death ears. No one returned. 

"How naive. Do you really expect them to happily throw their lives away for your theories?" Noah slashed at Riera, the force from the wing throwing her ten meters away.

"This is all your fault, fiend... No, you're a devil!" Riera's eyes seemed to be spewing fire as she looked at Noah. "Whatever you say." Noah smiled and flashed again, disappearing from her eyesight immediately.

*Boom!* At the place where Noah previously stood, Iris smashed with her axe, creating a crater and rising dust into the air. Noah appeared not far, where he slashed with his wing at the ground.

*Bam!* From seemingly nowhere, Sephilia suddenly emerged and was flung backwards, a fine line spurting out blood across her body. *Wiggle wiggle* The black skin around the wound began wiggling and rapidly closing the wound. 

"Physical Enhancement is indeed useful, but it places too big of a burden on you, doesn't it?" Noah spread his wings again and instantly came behind Sephilia.

With another slash, Sephilia's body was cut in multiple places, blood spurting out. Although she seemed unharmed on the surface thanks to her rapid regeneration, a look of pain was present on her face constantly.

[Bastard, he's not giving me time to rest! I won't be able to keep up this state for long!] Sephilia's body was enhanced with a multitude of drugs and secret methods as part of the Physical Enhancement project.

The goal was to create a Paladin comparable to a Kindred in terms of strength and regeneration. Unfortunately, the project is still in Its early stages, and the enhanced physical form cannot be sustained for long lest the Paladin die from strain.

Normally, Sephilia would try to refrain from using this form as much as possible. However, she now doesn't have a choice but to keep up the enhancement, otherwise Noah will kill her.

*Woosh!* With another slash, Sephilia was flung backwards again, and her eyesight was becoming muddy. At the same time, blood was pouring unceasingly from her nose. "Oh no, I can't keep it up anymore..."

"Don't you dare!" With a violent and vicious roar, Iris smashed at Noah with her axe, and the collision between the axe and the wing sounded out. "The Tyrannical Behemoth Art is powerful, but you're slowly losing your mind, am I wrong?"

Noah looked at Iris, who was slamming against the wings without stopping like a mad animal. Dust and rocks flew in all directions, but Noah stood in place, unharmed.

"Go to hell!" Riera finally found the opportunity to attack. The purple lightning on her spear struck and turned into a ten-meter lightning dragon.

Noah used his left wing and blocked Riera's attack directly. His shiny wings clashed against the lightning spear, creating the sound like that of metals hitting each other.

The lightning dragon was dispelled, and the silver spear rebounded instead of breaking Noah's wings. The violent vibration of the spear caused an unmatched energy that made Riera spurt out blood; she was knocked away like a shooting star.

"I cannot believe this... Just what are those wings made of..." Riera grunted in pain and looked at her beloved weapon. The silver spear in her hand was now cracked all over; it was just a matter of time before it breaks.

Looking around, she could see that Sephilia and Iris were also struggling to even keep up with Noah. Gritting her teeth, she squeezed out words out of her mouth. "Retreat! We have to retreat! You two, please hold on while I teleport the Mages away!" 

"I'm afraid I can't have that." Noah smiled, and suddenly he was gone. As if he fused into the wind itself, he suddenly flashed in front of the ten Officer Rank Mages. With one wing, he slashed downwards.

The Mages in the light barriers couldn't move, but they didn't look distressed. Out of their robes shot out ten small shields that formed a greater shield inscribed with runes all over.

"Not bad, but it's useless." If Noah attacked with ordinary spells, then he would certainly be unable to destroy this shield in a short time. But now, with this incredibly power quasi-innate spell, he was comparable to an injured General Rank Mage.

*Crack!* The shield filled with runes cracked and split like a rag cut by a pair of scissors. The Mages' faces fell before they let out wry smiles; a small cut appearing on their heads.

The cuts then started to crack from their eyebrows down to their noses, chins and chests. In the end, their bodies were split in half! Ten Officer Rank Mages died in a moment!

The array fluttered and ripples spread all over it. Following the sounds of glass breaking, the array disappeared, and with it all of its effects.

Riera suddenly gained an urge to cry; those Officer Rank Mages were her closest subordinates and she cared about them a great deal. To see them die like that gave rise to an irreconcilable enmity inside her.

"Escape! Iris, Sephilia, we have no choice but to escape! Activate your secret artifacts!" Although she was filled with hatred, Riera wasn't stupid. She knew very well that today she would not be able to kill Noah.

With that, Riera pulled out a small sun emblem and crushed it between her fingers. A blue light of teleportation enveloped her. 

"Dammit! Dammit!!!" Iris roared in anger and pulled out a bottle of wine. After crushing it, a bronze dwarf ten meters in size materialized out of thin air and grabbed her in between its huge hands. 

"Hahaha, my lovely daughter has chosen well!" With a thunderous voice, the dwarf jumped into the air and flew off, carrying the bitter Iris away. 

Noah didn't try to stop them; he stared at the dwarf with an enigmatic glint in his eyes. At the same time, he could feel a metal taste in his mouth. "I'm at my limit... But still!" 

With a smile, he forced himself once again and flashed out of everyone's vision. He appeared behind Sephilia, and thrusted with his wing like a spear! 

"Oh no!" A wave of danger washed over Sephilia, but as her transformation was dispelled, exhaustion prevented her from moving. With ease, the wing penetrated her chest and pierced her heart.

"Gah!" Sephilia spewed blood, and before a curtain of darkness washed over her, she could see a hand being placed on her face. "Soulsearch." With an arch, Sephilia's body became sluggish, and she fell to the ground, dead.

"Nooooo!" Riera screamed out loud; tears forming in her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. Right then, the blue light enveloped her completely and she disappeared.

"Cough cough cough..." Now the only man standing, Noah began coughing up blood. The Deep Abyssal Whale form behind him disappeared, and he fell to the floor. "What a shame, but I'm currently not strong enough to make them all stay here... But it's fine."

This battle was incredibly taxing for Noah. He suffered multiple injuries, many which would take days to heal completely. His soul orb was now almost completely empty thanks to his Deep Abyssal Whale form being so expensive to use.

"The Five Art Paintings are strong, but consume a lot of mana over time. If I wasn't a lot stronger than ordinary Mages thanks to my quality of mana, I'm afraid I could only deal some damage and run away..."

The dirt nearby moved, and Ian walked out next to Noah, searching Sephilia's body. He found a small rabbit's foot charm, and a smile crept on his face. "A teleportation artifact, good stuff. These swords are also pretty good..."

Just as Ian stored the two artifacts, the sky above them turned dark, and countless clouds filled the entirety of the previously blue sky. 

The ground began shaking like it was suffering from an earthquake, and in the distance one could see a dense wall of wind forming a huge tornado around both of them.

Scarily enough, the thunder clouds spread for ten kilometers in a few seconds. This was not an ordinary storm.

At this moment, all the monsters in a ten kilometer radius lay on the ground, trembling, not daring to make a noise. They felt like the apocalypse was upon them.

*Boom!* There were claps of thunder, and bolts of lightning were forming in the sky. Red thunder, purple thunder, golden thunder, white thunder... Dozens of different types of ancient thunders were flashing in the thundercloud.

Each of them represented a destructive energy and they could burn down a hundred mile radius once they struck. "What is happening?" Noah and Ian looked at the tornado in the distance and the lightning in the sky.

*Boom!* With a blaring din, a lightning shaft came down from the sky, roaring and snarling. The lightning shaft was over a few meters wide; it sizzled with a golden electric energy. Its brilliance illuminated the entire place.

It crashed into the ground a kilometer away from Noah, but its terrifying power was felt all the way from over there. After the dust settled, a huge crater was the only thing that remained. 

Looking up at the sky, Noah could see a pair of golden pupils staring right at him. The pupils felt ancient and primordial, and they stared at Noah with anger. "Is that... World Will?" Noah was shaken.

He had never seen a phenomenon like this, even in his previous life. His intuition was telling him that he would certainly die if he was hit by even a single lightning bolt. "Luckily, I have this... What?" 

The first thought that came to his mind was to use the Space Element artifact and leave through the Void. But to his surprise, the ripples in the air merely lasted for a few moments before disappearing. 

"The space is still locked down? So then, was that array   
before even locking down space in the first place?" As alarms rang out throughout his head, Noah made a decision. 

Ian grabbed him and moved, but suddenly, Noah could feel his sleeve tremble. Immediately, a thick and large shadow shot forth. The seven-colored glow on its body abruptly soared.

In front of Noah, a big seven-colored snake fifteen meters in length appeared, hissing furiously and looking at the sky. "Your Highness?" Noah asked.

The snake turned around and looked at Noah with a warm look. Seeing that, Noah immediately understood that this was not Queen Medusa, but the seven-colored snake's soul.

It looked like the snake was the one who was now in a dominant position between the two. The snake again eyed the dark clouds and hissed. 

In response, the clouds twisted and churned even more, and more thunder struck the ground around them, forming craters of various sizes.

"Your Highness, that thunder is incredibly powerful, I'm afraid that it has already reached quasi Magistrate Rank power at least. It would be a good idea to hide lest we get wiped out." 

The snake looked at Noah again and snorted disdainfully before turning around and ignoring him. This arrogance that ignored the possibility of dying was undoubtedly a trait belonging to Queen Medusa.

[Stupid snake.] Noah didn't even glance at the snake a second time as he jumped into the hole with Ian, who was casting Transmute spells on the way inside. 

After reaching a depth of hundred meters, the two created a bunker and released their mana senses, looking at the situation on the surface.

The sky roared, and the snake hissed, making it look like two hegemons were fighting for dominance. Finally, a huge thunderbolt shining in rainbow colors dropped down on the snake.

The snake hissed once again and shot towards the thunderbolt.

*BOOOOOOOM!!!*

The ground shook, the sky shook, the entire creation shook! 

A giant mushroom cloud rose from the ground and reached a few hundred meters into the air. This magnificent sight could be seen even from a few hundred miles away. 

The dark cloud had covered the entire sky, and on the ground, the explosion had devoured any life within five hundred kilometer radius. The Sea City, a big port of the Prisilba Kingdom, disappeared into ash....


	162. Chapter 162

A few days later, the only remains of the once prosperous port called Sea City was a small piece of the city wall. There was no life in a five hundred kilometer radius, just endless scorched dirt.

In the center of the black dirt stood a crater twenty meters in depth and a kilometer in width. A young man man was standing motionless in the crater.

The young man had short blonde hair and was wearing a purple Mage robe. His eyes were devoid of any emotion and he slowly exited the crater, releasing his mana sense.

"Indeed, that lightning was comparable to a Magistrate Rank innate spell in power. And those golden pupils... Was that really the World Will?" Noah looked around the place for something, stopping a few minutes later.

In front of him laid a motionless seven-colored snake, covered in bleeding injuries. Many parts of its skin were burnt to a crisp and its eyes were closed shut as if it was dead.

[What a shame, it's still alive. If it was dead, I am certain that I would be able to craft a number of defensive artifacts with its body.] Noah mused to himself as he took an epruvete and extracted some of the snake's blood.

Ian also walked outside and took a look around. No matter where he looked, there was no sign of life. Even a part of the sea itself was vaporised by the strange lightning from a few days ago.

"I should leave soon. The Prisilba Kingdom should find out about this within a week, maybe earlier." As Noah was thinking to himself, the snake body nearby began shining in a blinding light.

The previously fifteen meter long snake body shrunk and formed a seductive shape of a woman. Noah quickly took out a purple dress from his spatial ring and kneeled down in front of the shining figure.

"Your Highness, we meet again." The light flashed, and a snow white hand lightly picked up the purple dress and inspected it. "It's passable. You did well, despicable human."

Noah stood up without a word and saw a seductive figure in front of him, now in a skin tight purple dress that perfectly showed her all of her attractive womanly parts.

"Where are we now?" Queen Medusa looked around and asked. "We are in the Prisilba Kingdom now, next to a former port city." Noah answered. "I see." Queen Medusa nodded lazily before suddenly noticing Noah's clone nearby.

"Hm? You cloned yourself, despicable human?" Noah's clone turned around and watched queen medusa, who was using her pair of bewitchingly beautiful eyes to stare at him. Immediately, a fire of desire erupted in him.

"Indeed, Your Highness. This is my clone, I call him Ian." Noah presented Ian with etiquette, and Ian plastered an angelic smile on his face as he bowed respectfully. Inside though, he felt alarmed. 

[It's no wonder everyone is scared of this woman, every move that she makes is strangely charming.] Noah's clone avoided looking directly at Queen Medusa lest he be killed instantly.

As long as he made the slightest inappropriate move in front of this person who was feared by two kingdoms, the other party could instantly take his life.

Queen Medusa didn't care about Ian's plights. She straightened her body and stretched her lazy waist. Her alluring curves were extremely eye-piercing. "Thanks to that lightning from before, that troublesome snake won't appear for a while."

A faint smile was present on Queen Medusa’s lips. Clearly, she was extremely satisfied with their exchange this time around. "Oh." Noah nodded. "So that means that Your Highness is going to follow me in your human form now?"

“Don’t think any funny thoughts. That will cause you to lose your life.” Queen Medusa moved her feet, carrying a unique fragrant wind that caused a fire to rise within people’s belly. Ian didn't dare to look at her closely.

Queen Medusa now arrived in front of Noah and extended her snow white hand. "I know that a year has passed, despicable human, so, you must have it then?" She said in a smiling manner.

"How could I not, Your Highness?" Noah immediately took out the Thawing Spirit Potion he carefully kept just for this occasion. Finally, a sincere smile blossomed on Queen Medusa's lips as she took the potion.

"Impressive, you really are more capable than I thought, despicable human." Her breathing quietly intensified as she corked open the bottle and drank the contents in a single gulp. 

Suddenly, Noah could see two blue colored figures above Queen Medusa's head, one a human and the other a snake. The two slowly began merging and fusing into one before disappearing.

Queen Medusa opened her eyes and exhaled a long breath of air. Her expression, however, wasn't that of happiness. Noah stood by the side watching as she descended into silence.

Queen Medusa lifted that pair of bewitching pretty eyes, which caused people to involuntarily be obsessed with them, and looked at Noah. "One is not enough. Despicable human, do you have more?"

"Absolutely not." Noah responded immediately with a decisive shake of a head. "That was my only one." Of course, the fact that he drank the four remaining ones went unsaid.

"What a shame, but I guess I can't blame you for that..." Queen Medusa quietly mused to herself. "Alright, make more then." Noah smiled as he already expected such a reaction. "Oh, Your Highness, I certainly would love to, but this humble servant of yours-"

"Enough, what do you want?" Queen Medusa interrupted with a look of annoyance. Noah's smile didn't fade as he continued. 

"How about the same as before? Your Highness only has to intervene when I or my clone are about to die. As for how long... How about until we gather the ingredients for enough potions? This can also be considered a reward for my loyal service."

Queen Medusa gave Noah a glance before silently approving in her mind. It looked like this Mage in front of her knew not to ask for too much. 

"Alright, but the ingredients will be bought from your money. I already know you have a lot, so that won't be a problem for you, yes?" She said with a gentle smile.

"But of course, Your Highness. This humble servant will do his best to answer your request." Noah respectfully bowed. [Well, it would be a good idea to loot some horny nobles if necessary...]

"Where do you plan to go next?" Queen Medusa randomly asked. Noah mused for a moment before responding. "I was planning to return to the capital of Brabet Kingdom to sell some stuff, we can also use this chance to check for any ingredients."

In Sephilia's memory that he read, there was a mention of a Cardinal called Antonio who requested the help from three Holy Orders for an unknown reason. The time given until the beginning of the mission was two months.

Noah decided to use this chance to heal the rest of his injuries completely and to sell the items he gained from the golden castle that belonged to the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress. 

"The Brabet Kingdom, huh..." Queen Medusa frowned slightly before immediately nodding. The Brabet Kingdom was her greatest enemy, one that she wished to destroy completely. She could use the time to check on the Brabet Kingdom's reaction to her disappearance.

"Up to you. In any case, those few leaders within the Snake-People race can temporarily take over in my absence. Until you refine the Thawing Spirit Potion I will continue to follow you." She said lazily.

"Since it's like this, let us go." Noah smiled and took out a map in his memory. After looking for the direction of the closest city, he began walking, his clone following right behind him.

Queen Medusa took the chance to ask about what happened while she was asleep. Noah didn't hide anything and told her about the 3rd Holy Order and the appearance of the mysterious golden pupils.

"I see." Queen Medusa exclaimed in surprise. "So you actually fought and destroyed the 3rd Holy Order. So that's why you look different now, and why you're covered in injuries." 

"Indeed." Noah admitted. He had nothing to hide, so he told the truth. "Hmmm... Not bad, despicable human. Looks like you have some ability. As a show of my admiration, and your reward, I'll allow you to call me 'Queen Highness'."

"Thank you very much, Queen Highness." Noah responded. Interestingly enough, it seemed as though he had earned some sort of praise from this moody woman. Whether that praise was real or not was debatable however...

[It's still a shame that she lived though. The artifacts I could've crafted with her body would have been superb. I would be able to easily protect my clone in the future...] Noah sank into deep contemplation as he walked.

......

A teleportation ring in the capital of the Brabet Kingdom shined with blue light, and a crowd of people walked out in order. Among the passersbies were two young men, one blonde haired and one brown haired, and a mesmerizing woman.

The woman was wearing a skin tight purple dress, and had wavy hair the color of gold. A purple veil covered her mouth and nose, and her blue eyes looked at everything around her coldly.

Anyone who passed by would shoot a glance at her at least once. Even the guards around the teleportation ring were no exception. Noah kept silent as he suddenly walked into a dark alleyway.

He took off the meat jelly artifact, sprinkled a drop of blood on it, and handed it to his clone. [What a peculiar and ugly artifact...] Queen Medusa was initially taken aback, but she quickly recovered.

She noticed that Noah's clone now looked like a man in his thirties with scars on his face. [So that's why he killed that random person on the way...] Queen Medusa displayed some interest towards this strange thing, but she quickly forgot about it.

To her, this artifact was of little value. Thawing Spirit Potion was much more important, nothing else mattered apart from that. 

After the clone put on a white cloak on him, the trio walked towards the Primer Auction House. Noah walked in front, with his purple token and a symbol of the Primer Family on his chest. No one interrupted them on the entrance.

Immediately, Noah saw a familiar person. "Oh, if it isn't Guest Elder Noah. I missed you the moment you left me, how nice of you to return." Isabella walked in front, surrounded by some of the managers.

"Supervising Elder Isabella, I hope I am not disturbing your work." Noah replied with a smile. "Hehe, how could that be possible? You're always welcome here. And this... is?"

Isabella, whose pretty face contained a gentle smile was also startled when she saw Medusa following close behind Noah. She immediately smiled and asked without revealing anything.

"A friend." Noah noticed that Isabella showed a strange expression in that moment, and answered vaguely on purpose. "Ah, I see, I see." Isabella raised her eyebrows upon hearing this.

She took two steps forward, observing Medusa’s exquisite, flawless face that, even while masked, caused her to feel like exclaiming out loud.

"Miss is indeed beautiful. No wonder you're following beside my dear Guest Elder." To the side, Noah rolled his eyes. He noticed that Isabella had a rather annoying habit of teasing others. It made him wonder how did Callum endure her enough to get married to her...

Queen Medusa also noticed that this woman in front of her was just joking, but she said nothing. To a Magistrate Rank being like her, this person who was at most a Paragon Rank wasn't worth her time and attention.

"And this is?" Isabella now turned towards Noah's clone. "My name is Ian, Lady Isabella. I am a friend of Guest Elder Noah as well." Noah's clone showed perfect etiquette as he introduced himself. 

Isabella noticed that Ian's mannerisms and smile were eerily familiar to her, but she quickly dispelled that thought as Noah said he needed to sell some stuff.

"Oh, why didn't you say before, Guest Elder? Please, after me." Noah was lead to an examination room while his clone and Queen Medusa were arranged lavish rooms and a sumptuous meal.

Strangely enough, Noah's room was the same one that Queen Medusa was in. A maid brought over wine and various other treats and left them alone. The problem was, there was only one big bed in the room. That night, Noah and his clone shared a bed in the other room.


	163. Chapter 163

A month passed by in a flash. Noah spent every day brewing Grine Water from day to night, barely taking any rest. Thanks to not stopping for so long, he managed to brew enough Grine Water for two more years. 

At the same time, his clone spent the time absorbing mana from the surroundings, while Queen Medusa enjoyed herself by spending Noah's money. 

"Guest Elder Noah, I'm delighted to inform you that your items sold for two million middle grade crystals." Isabella said. The auction house also earned some crystals from this auction as well, so she was in a good mood.

"That's good. I hope that you like that altar as a present I gave you, Supervising Elder." Noah stored the crystals inside his spatial ring with a smile. "Haha, of course." Isabella smiled wryly. This "present" that Noah gave her cost her 10 000 high grade mana crystals. 

She didn't want to spend so much money on it, but the altar just looked too attractive to her, and Noah knew that. [If he wasn't an Alchemist, I would've thought he was a stingy merchant. And he calls it a present...]

"Also, is my payment for the Grine Water taken care of?" Noah asked. "Of course, everything is in here." Isabella took out a spatial ring and handed to Noah to check. Inside was a staggering 800 000 high grade mana crystals.

This was an insane amount, one that many forces would kill for. Noah accepted the ring with a smile on his face, and in his mind he began calculating how many crystals would remain if he used them on the second painting of the Five Art Paintings.

After a few minutes he decided against spending them for now. [The funds for an organization come first. The second painting can wait for a while.] "Thank you, Supervising Elder. I'll be taking my leave now." 

"Oh, you're already leaving?" Isabella sounded disappointed. "I have somewhere to go." Noah answered vaguely and said his goodbyes before leaving the auction house.

"Finally finished?" Queen Medusa lazily stood up and stretched. "Yes, Queen Highness. We are leaving immediately." Noah answered respectfully as he packed up his things.

Queen Medusa said nothing else and followed behind him and his clone. They paid a travel fee and entered a teleportation ring.

......

Half a month flashed by, and three people were camping in the wilderness around a campfire. "Despicable human, why are we even here?" Queen Medusa raised her eyebrows, dissatisfied. 

"I'm planning on spying on the Holy Orders of the Church of Light. There's something big happening, and I wish to know what, Queen Highness." Noah answered. 

For half a month, Noah had been constantly buying information about any movements made by the Church. After a few successes and failures, he found out that whatever is happening will happen on a plain known as the Turandot Plain.

"Hmph, I'm bored. There's nothing to do here in this place. Do you have anything entertaining to satisfy me with?" Queen Medusa laid on her sleeping bag and played around with a leaf.

"Something entertaining... Oh, I do have something." Noah received an idea and took out the demonic spellbook. "Noah my friend, it's been some time since you last let me out. What happened-" 

Niolo flew out in the usual energetic mood before his gaze fell on Queen Medusa. Similarly, Queen Medusa noticed Niolo, and her mouth curled upwards while her eyes showed killing intent. 

"... I'm going back." Suddenly, a suction force grabbed Niolo while in mid-air and pulled him towards Queen Medusa effortlessly. "Noah my friend, help!" Noah glanced at him once before averting his eyes again.

"She won't kill you, just entertain her somehow. And don't bother me, I'm thinking about important things." Seeing that Noah was of no help, Niolo slowly turned his gaze to the enchanting woman who was now holding him in her hand.

"I remember you came up with a name for me. I think it was "Fifi" was it not?" Queen Medusa smiled enchantingly, but every words that came out of her mouth was cold and every syllable stretched out.

"Haha... Ha..." If Niolo now had a body, he would have undoubtedly been shaking in his boots. "Oh yes, and there was also that one time you wanted to know my sizes, yes?" 

As she spoke, her delicate snow white hand squeezed Niolo like a vice. "F-f-f-forgive me!" Without a shred of dignity, Niolo showed a crying face and squealed out. "That is not enough. Allow me to teach you proper respect to a noble Queen such as I."

Throughout the night, Niolo was in a state worse than death. The next morning, the four of them continued on their way to the Turandot Plains. After a few days of constant travelling, Noah finally noticed his goal with his mana sense.

"They're in front." Noah waved his hand and carefully moved forward, with Queen Medusa and Niolo behind him. Looking closely, Noah could see that the entire camp was tightly guarded and there were watchtowers installed at every corner.

The camp was very similar to a fortified fortress, with walls made with Earth Element magic, constant patrols and even seven electromagnetic cannons placed all around the camp. 

The atmosphere seemed tense, and everyone kept silent. "Your Highness, please wait here. I'm planning to scout ahead a little." Before Queen Medusa could even respond, Noah dived into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

"What?" Queen Medusa accidentally revealed a look of surprise. "I thought that you were a Fire Element Mage. Despicable human, you are a Dual Element Mage?" Noah's clone smiled and said nothing more.

"Hooh, I guess you are more interesting than I originally thought." Queen Medusa didn't ask any more questions and kept silent. She knew that Noah would probably lie if she asked him again.

Right now, Noah passed through the camp slowly, inspecting every nook and cranny and engraving it into his mind. In the middle, he found a big white tent with a sun symbol on it. In front of the tent stood two Templars.

Noah could see three people conversing inside the tent. Two of them were Paladins dressed in shining white armor and possessing Officer Rank presence, while the last one was a fat ugly man dressed in a white cardinal robe.

"These are terrible news I must say. For the 3rd Holy Order to be annihilated by a single person, that man must be a powerful servant of the demons." The fat man spoke in a sad voice.

"How is Lady Riera? I had heard that she was under shock by all the events that happened." One of the Paladins, a middle aged man with a short white beard shook his head. 

"Poor girl, she was crying and trembling all over, muttering all kinds of things about a 'demonic winged whale'. Seeing her friend killed in front of her on top of her subordinates was a great blow to her." 

The other Paladin, a woman with blue hair, crossed her arms and asked. "Did she say anything else? Any information about his appearance or anything similar?" The bearded man shook his head.

"I see. We best let her rest for a while. After this hunting mission is over I will personally go and check on her condition." The fat man made a short prayer and crossed his arms. 

[Hunting mission? So they are here for a special reason. What are they hunting I wonder...] Just as Noah was wondering, he could hear a distant flap of wings from high up in the air.

Naturally, this meant that everyone present also heard the noise. Immediately, the camp was throw into a state of war. "It's here, it's here! Notify the Cardinal! It's approaching us from the North!"

"North?" Noah looked through the eyes of his clone towards the North. What he saw made his eyes shrink. "What?" Similarly, Queen Medusa also let out a yelp of surprise. 

To the North, a purple dot slowly came into vision. It was a Dragon over fifty meters long and covered in thick purple scales. On its head proudly stood a pair of horns, and its two massive wings flapped through the air.

"A Dragon? Why is it here?" Noah was stunned. In the future, there was indeed supposed to be a Dragon attack on the Akhulan Kingdom. But that was supposed to be a few years in the future, at least two more years. 

[Did these people intentionally anger a Dragon? What would be the point?] Noah couldn't understand the Cardinal Antonio's intentions so he continued observing the situation.

Right now, the Cardinal and the two Paladins were informed about the Dragon in the sky and calmly exited the tent. "Cannons, aim at the target and prepare to fire!" The bearded Paladin ordered.

The cannoneers listened attentively, and aimed the seven electromagnetic cannons at the approaching Dragon. Surprisingly, the Dragon didn't pay the camp any mind, flying in the air without care.

[What is this Dragon doing? Does it not see that it's under attack? And why is it spinning in the air?] Noah looked at the Dragon on the sky as if it were an idiot. The Dragon looked like it was drunk and having problems flying.

"Fire!" The bearded Paladin ordered, and the seven electromagnetic cannons fired out the Silver Saint Spears. *Swiiisshh!* The seven spears flashed through the air, and stabbed themselves into the Dragon's flesh!

"Roooaarrr!" With an agonized roar of pain, the Dragon turned its attention onto the camp down on the ground. Noah already left the camp as a shadow, all the while contemplating about the Dragon's strange behavior.

[Seeing that this Dragon was hurt by the Silver Saint Spears, it has to be Officer Rank at most. Isn't that rather weak for a Dragon?] 

Although Dragons were incredibly powerful creatures, so powerful that they could compete with a human a Rank above them, their defense however wasn't at that level.

That was why the Silver Saint Spears could penetrate its scales and injure it directly. With an angry growl, the purple Dragon opened its mouth and released a powerful Dragon's Breath.

"Dragon Breath incoming!" The men on the watchtowers yelled out. "Continue loading the cannons! Leave the Dragon's Breath to me." The bearded Paladin took out a small green bottle and poured mana into it.

The bottle suddenly erupted with a powerful suction force which sucked up the destructive Dragon's Breath without trace. "Cannons loaded!" The Paladin yelled out again. "Fire!"

*Sswissh!* Another seven Silver Saint Spears flew through the air at an incredible speed, firmly digging themselves into the Dragon's flesh. Along with blood, purple scales fell on the ground from the sky.

"Roooaarrr!" The Dragon let out another roar of anguish and released a powerful, overbearing pressure on the surroundings. This was the infamous "Dragon Pressure" capable of easily breaking a Mage's pressure, rendering them completely helpless.

"Useless." Cardinal Antonio showed a repulsive smile as he took out a necklace made with fifteen pearls. The necklace released a pleasant song which incapacitated the Dragon and stopped the Dragon Pressure.

"Now, be a good little lizard and get caught, hehehe." The Cardinal smiled again and took out black chains out of his robe. The chains released a dark and cold aura that gave off an unpleasant feeling to anyone around them.

Antonio threw the black chains at the Dragon with surprising strength unbefitting of his physicue. The chains wrapped themselves around the Dragon tightly and behaved as living snakes while coiling around the Dragon's body.

The Dragon tried to escape by flying away, but after passing only around a hundred meters, it crashed down like a meteorite over Noah and Queen Medusa's heads deep into the woods.

"Follow after it! I can feel that my chains caught it. It will be unable to fight back as we subdue it." Antonio ordered.

"They're coming over here. Do you need this Queen to help?" Medusa asked. Noah adamantly shook his head in refusal. "No. I'm more interested in that Dragon." He didn't have the slightest interest in fighting two Holy Orders at this time.

Quickly but silently moving, Noah and the rest found a small crater surrounded by fallen trees not far from where they were. 

Noah could see a young girl dressed in a torn white dress lying on the ground, chained by the black chains and covered in blood. The little girl appeared to be twelve to thirteen years old.

Her pale purple hair was reaching her waist, and she was now barely breathing.


	164. Chapter 164

The little girl was trying to remove the chains off her body, but the more she moved the more the chains would dig into her, giving her more pain.

[These chains are an interesting artifact. They don't chain the physical form, but the soul. It impossible to take them off without an artifact to protect souls.] Noah approached the chains and grabbed them with his hand.

*Crack!* With cracking noises, the black chains broke apart in an instant. The little girl opened her eyes and looked at Noah in surprise. "My apologies, but please keep silent." Noah smiled as he picked her up over his shoulder.

At the same time, Antonio received a feeling that his artifact was broken. "What?!" [She broke the chains? Does she have some secret artifacts I don't know about?] Antonio's face darkened. 

[I've borrowed that artifact from them. If I don't present them with that Dragon, it's all over for me.] A cold shiver passed all over Antonio's body, and he began sweating.

"Hurry up! We don't know if she'll be chained forever!" While anxious, he himself also strode over into the woods. "The Dragon is gone!" One of the Paladins yelled out from the forest.

Antonio stopped dead in his tracks. [It's over. I'm dead. I couldn't complete such a simple mission, there's no way that they'll let me live.] "Search around, she couldn't have left far!"

At the same time as Antonio was yelling, four people were making their way through the woods quietly. After making a distance of twenty kilometers, they stopped at a nearby cave. 

Noah gently laid down the small girl on a nearby rock. "You don't have to be vigilant, we aren't going to hurt you." The little girl didn't listen and quickly made some distance between Noah and the rest.

Noah shrugged his shoulders and threw over a few healing potions. The girl carefully smelled the potions, and after seeing that they weren't harmful she gulped them down one by one.

"Not bad. More." Like a spoiled child, she extended her arm in front and beckoned. Noah was a little taken aback by this, but he still threw over some more potions.

"More." The girl beckoned with her hand again. "I don't have any more, you drank over fifteen of them." Noah replied. "You are a poor person." The girl looked at Noah seemingly with pity before her gaze fell on Queen Medusa and his clone.

She didn't feel anything from the clone, but Queen Medusa gave off a scary feeling to her. It made her release her Dragon Pressure as an instinct. Queen Medusa raised an eyebrow at this silly creature in front of her.

[So that's a Dragon...] Even for someone powerful like Queen Medusa, she still felt a sort of feeling of slight suppression. It was as if her body instinctively felt fear and reverence towards the girl the same way one might feel in the presence of an emperor.

It made her interested in this little creature. Noah felt nothing under the effect of Dragon Pressure. His feeling of fear was completely severed, never to return. He only felt that the girl did something, but nothing else.

"Damn lizard..." Niolo squeezed through his chattering teeth. If he had a body, he would probably attack the girl to rid himself of this strange fear. "What is your name? Who are you? Why are you here? Are you alone?"

Noah bombarded the girl with questions, making her surprised. [This human... He isn't affected by my Dragon Pressure? He shouldn't even be able to speak now!]

"... My name is Nersis." The girl answered with caution, observing Noah's reaction. "I see." Noah nodded, surprising the girl again. "You don't know who I am?" She exclaimed.

"Am I supposed to?" Noah looked at Queen Medusa for answers but received nothing. "Looks like the rumors about you lower races forgetting about us are true! To think that you don't know who I am..." Nersis covered her mouth with her hand.

Noah looked at her with some annoyance. The girl was obviously goading him to ask her about her identity. Nevertheless, he still asked politely. "Could I know who you are?"

"Haha, listen carefully human, as I'll only say it once!" Nersis showed a smug expression and crossed her hands. "I am the second daughter of the current Dragon Emperor, Nersis the Void Kin!"

Noah looked at the girl's expression that wanted to say "worship me" and fell in deep thought. [A daughter of the Dragon Emperor. Why is such an important figure flying carelessly in the sky above a human kingdom?]

"Hey hey, I told you my name, why are you silent now? Are you not even a little surprised?" Nersis looked at everyone's reactions and pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. 

"If you're a princess, where are your bodyguards? It can't be that you flew here alone?" Noah's question hit the mark, and Nersis hung her head low like a guilty child being chastised. "I... ran away from the island." 

[She's an idiot. An idiotic spoiled child.] Noah was at a loss for words, but he immediately began thinking about using her to his benefit. [If I return her along with the dragon egg I have, I'm bound to get rewarded heavily...]

A smile crept on his face as he began thinking about it. "Scary..." Nersis felt a cold chill run through her entire body when Noah's eyes landed on her. "What are you doing, despicable human?" 

Queen Medusa slapped Noah on the head and woke him up from his thoughts. "Queen Highness, please be careful. If you hit me with too much force, you might really kill me instantly." 

"Hmph, who told you to go and scare the child like that." Medusa lightly snorted. Niolo snickered quietly behind her back. Noah ignored the demon and gave Queen Medusa a strange look.

Since when was this vicious and moody woman interested in anything? This was the first time Noah had seen such a thing. "Do you not want your eyes?" With a sweet smile, Queen Medusa said something sinister.

"My apologies, Queen Highness." His attention turned back on the small girl in front of him. "Lady Nersis, are you perhaps looking for a way back home?" 

"No!" Nersis immediately refuted. "That stupid father of mine always forbid me to go outside of the island. I'm not going back now! Nyeeehh!" She stuck out her touched in defiance.

"What a strange little thing..." Queen Medusa looked at Nersis and chuckled lightly. "I'm not a thing! I'm a proud Dragon, the strongest race on the continent, old granny!" Nersis released more of her Dragon Pressure.

"Old granny..." Queen Medusa's smile froze. "Looks like I need to teach this rude child some manners towards this Queen." A cold aura spread from her, making the temperature in the surroundings drop.

"I'm not scared! I'm a proud Dragon! How could I be scared of an old granny like you!" Although she was shaking all over, Nersis still showed a look of defiance. "Pfft..." In the corner, Niolo tried hard to suppress laughter from coming out.

"So you don't want to go home huh..." Noah touched his chin as he pondered. "Then how about this. Lady Nersis, why not join us on a fun adventure? We are planning on exploring many interesting places."

Noah tried to look as approachable as possible as he plastered an angelic smile on his face. "Really? I can see many different places?" The girl's eyes shined. "Of course. In fact, we were just on our way to a fun place. Will you come with us?"

"Of course. What are we waiting for, let's go go go!" Nersis looked excited as she climbed onto Noah in a second and sat on his shoulders. "..." [What a simpleton.] 

"And where is that fun place you speak of?" Queen Medusa asked while squeezing Niolo like a ball in her hand. "I'm going to die...." Noah's expression became serious. "The Black Corner Region." 

"Black Corner Region? That lawless and terrible place? Why?" Queen Medusa asked with a little interest. The Black Corner Region was rather famous as living proof of how devastating damage output of General Rank innate spells can be.

In a clash between two General Rank Mages, the land would always suffer, and if they both used innate spells, the results would be catastrophic.

Entire regions would be damaged to the extent that there was no return. All sentient species would go extinct, and leftover radiation would start leaking whenever someone visited the area, causing the strength of visiting Mages to drop greatly.

Gradually, some of the affected areas became lands of death. Only strange species and convicts who could not mix with the rest would bear the hardships of the environment and settle down there.

The Black Corner Region was one such place. Legend has it that in such vile conditions all the beings would strive to promote their strength, and evolve in a horrifying direction. Over time, they would form an extremely strange race, and the place would be fraught with dangers.

Queen Medusa found it very weird that someone like Noah, who wasn't convicted of anything, would want to go to such a place.

"I'm planning on developing a faction of my own, and what better place is there than a chaotic one?" Noah smiled and didn't say anything else.

He had spent these past few days thinking about the future events. He believed that those golden pupils definitely belonged to the World Will. This made him want to try something out.

No matter how the World Will tries to interfere in his actions, the fact is that it needs to sleep for ten years. Considering the tremendous power it displayed two months ago near Sea City, the period of rest might be even longer than before.

This created an interesting situation for Noah. The next chosen known as the 'Artifact God' will become famous nine years later, allowing the Monera Kingdom of the Dwarves to rise in power greatly.

But if the World Will is asleep now, what will happen to the Artifact God? Will he become famous later, or will he become completely glossed over by the World Will and will someone else take his place?

[If I can get the Artifact God on my side, the boost I would get in the future will be immense. Unifying the Black Corner Region into my personal backyard would be easy. If I can't, then I'll simply kill him while the World Will is asleep.]


	165. Chapter 165

Whilst they were traveling, Noah and the rest were lucky to find that they were just in time to board a flying airship without the need for recommendation from local forces.

It was a rare event that happens only a few times a year, something that rouge Mages without background especially enjoy.

It was now night, and countless stars illuminated the sky like many small lamps. The Moon shined especially bright, and this high in the air it seemed as it was possible to touch it with a hand. 

Standing on board the deck, Noah fell silent as he looked at the illustrious symbol of the Fallor Family splashed across the body of the airship.

[They are indeed the rulers of the skies. They single-handedly dominate and monopolize the entirety of aerial transport in the continent.] The Fallor Family was one of the top noble families presiding over the sky.

They were in possession of all airships on the continent, and those that weren't theirs inadvertently had some connection to them in the past. They were truly a family that owned the skies of the world.

"What are you looking at?" A small purple haired girl walked over and leaned on the rails. Her eyes shined as she looked at the scenery below.

"The Moon." Noah responded after a few seconds. "The Moon?" Nersis looked at the Moon that seemed particularly close this evening. "I don't see what's so beautiful about a rock."

"It isn't about the look, it's about the meaning behind it." Noah didn't take his eyes off and spoke nonchalantly. "Meaning? What meaning does it have to you? Tell me, tell me!" Nersis looked at Noah.

"It represents a height that I have to reach, a height beyond this world that I will one day pass." Noah answered. "Eh, I don't know what you mean. Anyway, I'm going to eat something, enjoy yourself human!"

Nersis came and went quickly, and Noah was again left by himself. [One day...] With that, Noah left to his room to get some rest.

......

As far as Mages were concerned, long and slow journeys were not torturous. At worst, they might have to stay in their room every day and train or read to pass time. 

And since the Fallor Family had provided such excellent services in the first class cabin, Noah and the rest were satisfied, especially with the meals provided.

And no matter how long a journey was, it had to come to an end. 

The huge airship started descending, casting a huge circular shadow on the ground. The shadow kept spreading until at last, a loud thump was heard.

“This is Sin City station. All passengers who are alighting, please maintain order!”

After the airship had stabilized, a group of workers and slaves opened the warehouse latch and started unloading the goods. 

A few flights of stairs were unfolded and secured to the ground. The passengers who were going to alight got ready and started forming a queue.

"We are finally here, the border of the Forgotten Land, Sin City. Even the name is unpretentious with no need to cover up." After three whole months of travelling, Noah arrived at his destination as he mingled among the other tourists.

He fixated his eyes on the orange sun in the distance, and the dilapidated grey and brown walls under it. "The level of energy particles here is lower than in the outside world by 20%. This is rather annoying."

The spells of Mages were cast through their own energy which galvanised the surrounding energy particles. 

Low concentrations of the energy particles would cause a weakening of their power, leading to greater consumption of their own magical energies. If they were to face such a situation all of a sudden, many Mages would probably be thrown into a flurry.

Although the energy particles concentration level was lower than that in the outside world by 20%, it posed no problem to Noah. It would only mean that his recovery would be a little slower than usual.

Remembering some information, he looked at his surroundings. 

Sure enough, the tourists who had departed the airship had solemn expressions, an aura on their bodies that clearly indicated that they were not to be messed with. Some of them had also covered up their faces.

Then there were the slaves and coolies who had been transporting objects underground. They would size up the batch of tourists from time to time, and their docile gazes concealed a malicious thirst for blood.

It was as if they were waiting for the tourists to reveal a slight opening, for them to rip them apart and devour them like wolves.

A chaotic region where strength rules all. The Black Corner Region followed a very simple rule. If you are powerful, you're at the top, if you're weak, you have no rights as a living being.

Noah and the two women subtly mixed in with the crowd. Nefas City had no city guard to speak of, and there was obviously no entrance fee. 

As a result, there was a lot of human traffic, but none of it was particularly good. Of course, anyone who was forced to come here did not exactly have a stellar character.

”Rascal, what are you looking at?” An extremely muscular man who was close to two metres tall gazed at a youngster with an unfriendly expression.

”Oh! Sorry! Sorry!” The youngster had eyes that were triangular in shape. His mouth opened and he started to smile apologetically, at the same time nodding his head and bowing.

Just as he had bowed down in his apology, a cold glint emerged in the youngster’s eyes. He violently whipped out a black dagger and stabbed the strong man in the stomach.

”You!” The strong man’s face registered rage as he was caught off-guard. Still, a thin layer of defense formed on his body. That strong man was a Paragon Rank Warrior that could release a small protective membrane around himself.

*Whoosh!* The strong man’s eyes shone ominously as he decided on how to torture the youngster to death. But instantly, the ominous glint in his eyes, disappeared, replaced instead by terror.

The defense he was so proud of, a Paragon Rank Warrior's defense, was cut apart like paper by the black dagger.

The black dagger repeatedly, as if following a trajectory, stabbed the strong man’s stomach before being violently pushed in.

”You…” The strong man foamed at his mouth and he collapsed. He struggled in pain on the ground, and one could faintly see the ruptured organs and intestines through the wound.

The youngster kept his dagger, and swiftly squeezed out of the crowd before disappearing around a corner. The pedestrians on both sides did not panic at all, and were instead rejoicing at the misfortune of the strong man who had collapsed in the middle. 

There were even a few people who exchanged glances before moving toward the direction in which the youngster had escaped.

After a long time, a batch of patrolling soldiers arrived, serving well their roles as cleaners and corpse-collectors.

Noah had seen such a situation occur about four to five times ever since he entered Nefas City. There was simply nobody watching over this place.

The pathways of the city were paved with knife shavings and hammer splints. There were even bloodstains that could not be washed off, having long since turned a brownish-black.

In general, this was an extremely chaotic criminal town. Robbery, murder, rape and lewd behavior could be seen everywhere. Shady businesses were being conducted in the corners, and there were also some normal trading stalls, but they were rare.

Noah had also been stopped several times by a few people who did not know better and lusted after the beauty of Queen Medusa who was now masked. 

They would often unscrupulously block the path ahead, and make certain requests of Noah. Of course, they had all become disfigured corpses, carrying their regrets to their deathbeds.

"What a disgusting city." Queen Medusa said in a cold voice, but she wore a satisfied smile that only increased her appeal. Evert since entering the city, she had tortured every fool who came too close to her.

"And what is this uncomfortable aura? It stinks of blood!" Walking in front of Noah's clone, Nersis covered her nose. Her face was a little pale and she felt like vomiting, but didn't show it.

"Oh, those cultists are just performing summoning rituals and offering sacrifices to demons and other deities they believe in." Noah answered nonchalantly.

"The more degenerate and sinful places are, the more attractive they are to demons. The sacrifice of spirit and flesh in these environments brings them even more delight, which results in better blessings to the cultists."

"Nefas City's governor is a peak General Rank Mage. In case a Demon descends here, he immediately captures it, and either conducts his own research on it or sells it. The Church of Light is his biggest buyer."

Nersis was somewhat speechless after hearing all of that. "You lower races are really weird..." Noah didn't say anything to that. For Ranked Mages, this was normal.

"The Black Corner Region is just after Nefas City. It's split into multiple parts, each part belonging to one force. If it makes you feel better, the public order is a bit better than here." 

In the end, as the sun was setting, Noah decided to reside in Nefas City for a night before entering the actual Black Corner Region. 

As a result, Noah and the rest found a clean hotel to reside in after which they all either slept, went shopping or bought some necessities.

Noah spent the day walking around any bookstore looking for books about mountains and mountain valleys on the entire continent, especially in the Forbidden Lands. 

His clone spent the time absorbing mana from the surroundings and focusing to breakthrough to Officer Rank. Queen Medusa and Nersis went shopping, leaving trails of corpses behind them. 

"Do you sell information?" Noah, now in a new appearance looking like an old man, walked over to a small Dwarf with a sunken face. This Dwarf, although weak, was not touched by anyone on the street.

"Yes, My Lord. I guarantee that any information you may need, I have!" The Dwarf bowed respectfully and looked at Noah with expectation. Noah threw over a bag of low grade mana crystals.

After the Dwarf confirmed that the payment was enough, he smiled and asked. "What does My Lord wish to know?" 

"I want a detailed list of all the forces in the territory of The Black Royal Pavilion, from the strongest to the weakest. If you procure it, expect this." Noah dangled a few middle grade crystals in front of the Dwarf.

"Of course, My Lord! You'll have it by tommorow morning, our members are very fast and thorough!" The Dwarf didn't even look at Noah as he was bowing, his eyes constantly glued on the middle grade crystals.


	166. Chapter 166

A boundless barren wasteland. Gales howled, sending the dust hurtling through the air to cover the sky, forming a thick haze. In this land, two men and two women were hurrying along on a special giant lizard.

*Swish!* Noah threw two bottles of green liquid that burst midair causing countless droplets to fall. The moment these droplets made contact with the yellow sand, they began to emit smoke, forming a pit whose descent could be seen with the naked eye.

*Chi chi!* A few black figures in the sand shrieked, fleeing far away. These creatures had a head and humanoid limbs, and they were only as large as a seven or eight-year-old child. 

In addition, their heads were shaped like those of mice, with two giant white teeth jutting out that looked sharp. Their bodies were covered with fur, and they all had thin black tails behind them.

"Oh?! What are those? I've never seen them before!" Nersis looked at the fleeing creatures and pointed at them with her finger.

"Those are Mouse People. They’re a type of lycanthrope, the product of experiments left behind by ancient Mages." Noah explained as he urged the lizard to continue running.

Places like the Black Corner Region were truly large dumps. In here, you could meet all sorts of strange creatures that were all the products of failed experiments who had escaped. Some of these species were very rare in the continent.

No matter what they were, they all had a common point—they were either plagued with flaws, were corrosive, or had powerful poisons.

There was one way to sum this up. They were hard to make use of and were of no value to Ranked Mages.

This, along with the shortage of resources, was why the Black Corner Region was not taken over by any kingdom. Otherwise, nothing in the world would be able to deter the greed of Ranked Mages.

There were, of course, a handful of rare species who voluntarily entered the Black Corner Region to escape the grip of the Mages, however rare the cases might be.

As time passed, sun and moon rose and fell multiple times. Still, there was often no soul in sight on the road.

Those that Noah and his group did come across were mostly some rare species or exiled Mages who couldn’t survive in the continent.

More often than not, these meetings ended up in a battle due to various reasons. In the end, all of the attackers were brutally dealt with and all of their meagre belongings looted.

After another day, Noah finally noticed an outline of a big city several kilometers in front. The city looked majestic and was surrounded by a black city wall. 

In front of the city gate stood queues of Mages and lizard type mounts. When Noah's group arrived in the queue, they immediately became a center of attention thanks to Queen Medusa's looks.

Queen Medusa's eyes lazily swept over the surrounding Mages, and a smile appeared on her face. This made her all the more charming to everyone present. There were even a few bold fellows who came close with obvious intentions.

Queen Medusa smiled at this, and with a wave of her hand, she turned the approaching Mages into heaps of blood and flesh in an instant. 

This sudden slaughter was like cold water being poured over the surrounding Mages' heads, and they immediately withdrew their eyes, not daring to even take a peek anymore.

A chill surged out of the hearts of these Mages as they felt relief that they hadn't approached this woman just now. She was not someone they could offend and survive...

Even the guards at the entrance felt apprehensive about Noah's group. After Noah payed some small entry fee he was immediately let through with no problems.

"Despicable human, is this city really better than the previous one? I can hardly see the difference." Queen Medusa snorted in disdain. She would never have come to this dirty place if it wasn't for having to follow him.

"Don't worry, Queen Highness. Unlike Nefas City, this Black Wall City actually has a Shelley Hotel in it. No one will provoke you in there." Noah replied.

"Hooh, I've heard about the Shelley Family's famous and expensive hotels. You're a thoughtful servant, despicable human." Medusa praised with a smile.

"Thank you for the praise, Queen Highness." Noah didn't mind that he was used as a piggy bank by this woman. As long as her expenses weren't in the millions, it wasn't a problem for him at all.

On the contrary, if spending money for her obediently could somehow improve his relationship with her, Noah wouldn't mind even if she spent millions of mana crystals.

A multiple story building entered Noah's eyes. The building was decorated with beautiful flowers and plants, and looked extremely out of place in this city. This was the Shelley Hotel.

"Welcome, respected guests. How may the Shelley Hotel serve you?" The hotel's receptionist respectfully bowed as he asked. "Your best room for the two ladies, and one four star room for us two." 

Noah payed with middle grade crystals, and a nearby attendant quickly took care of the lizard mount outside. "We hope that you enjoy your stay, dear Guests." The receptionist handed over two keys and bowed again.

The attendant that returned led Noah and the rest to their arranged accommodations. Queen Medusa and Nersis stayed in the best accommodation of the hotel. 

The accommodation was on the sixth floor. There were three bedrooms, a living room, a bar, a dining room, and a beautiful view on an orchid garden down below.

Noah and his clone were on the fourth floor, their accommodation worse than the best one, but still lavish nonetheless. This way, Noah be able to take care of his own business without his clone being in possible danger.

"Now, then..." Noah was now looking through a list of different forces in this city. None of them were that strong, they mostly possessed ordinary thugs and leaders at Paragon Rank.

Only one force in this city was led by a single Officer Rank Mage, and they were considered the strongest. "Let's choose them." After a period of thought, Noah's mind settled on one small force.

......

Dragon Cave Mountain was a big mountain three kilometers away from Black Wall City. It was an abandoned place used by a small gang with only two Paragon Rank leaders.

Right now, Noah was walking towards the mountain. He was wearing a demon face mask. After coming close enough, a voice suddenly echoed throughout the place. "Stop right there!"

Three burly men jumped out of nowhere and stood in Noah's way. "This is the territory of the Azure Dragon Gang. If you want to pass through here you have to pay." The man in the middle showed a bloodthirsty smile.

"Azure Dragon Gang? Excellent." Seeing Noah's eyes behind his mask left the middle man feeling a bit unsettled, and the other two men also showed serious expressions.

"Don't get any funny ideas, masked freak. We have two leaders at Paragon-" The man's words got stuck in his throat as he felt a towering pressure on his entire body, like a mountain was weighing on him.

[O-Officer Rank?! Why is such a monster here?!] The three men immediately knelt down and started begging for forgiveness while trembling and weeping. Noah ignored their pleas and opened his mouth.

“I have the feeling you people are in need of a good leader. what do you think? Join me, and we can rule the entire Black Corner Region." The three men looked at Noah, completely stunned.

Did this powerhouse just say that he wanted to be their leader? “Don’t worry. With me around, nothing bad will happen to you. Come, come. Lead the way to your headquarters so I can meet all the other members in your group.” 

Noah urged them, and the three of them quickly stood up and led the way. They were just glad that they were still alive, and didn't want to displease this monster in front of them. On the way, Noah reviewed the information in his head.

In Black Wall City, the east district had the reputation of being luxurious and extravagant. The north district was more out-of-the-way, and not as well off, while the other two were so-so. 

The Azure Dragon Gang had started out relatively unknown in the north district. Considering the impressive name they had picked for their organization, one could well imagine the heroic aspirations of its founders.

But ideals don’t always measure up to reality. In the hundred years since its founding, they had never grown beyond the small sphere of influence they had started out with on the very edge of the north district.

The Azure Dragon Gang only had about thirty members, and made their living from protection fees and selling drugs. They were pretty terrible in all regards.

But the reason why Noah chose this small force was actually because of the Dragon Cave Mountain. This mountain was big, was easy to defend against hordes of enemies, and was in a relatively secluded area.

He had a plan regarding this mountain. Right now, as Noah was the strongest person here, he was the new leader. Taking over the Azure Dragon Gang was pitifully easy.

The two leaders who were both Paragon Rank Warriors couldn't even handle one punch from Noah, and thus surrendered immediately. They were forced to 'offer' their Spirit Seeds, which they reluctantly did.

"Greetings, Boss!" Noah sat in the seat of honor and listened to the people calling out their greetings. Everyone else had looks of fear in their eyes, but there was also a look of expectation.

Noah nodded before speaking again. "Good. Now that I'm in charge, we'll begin the first phase immediately. Mark." 

"Yes, Boss." One of the two Warriors stepped in front and bowed. "How much money do you have in your reserves?" 

Mark's expression became embarrassed at this question, after a long time finally saying. “Right now, the gang has about 50,000 silver coins in storage. As for mana crystals, we have around a 150 low grade crystals.”

"I see." Noah took out a bag of silver and gold coins and threw it at Mark. "Use this. You'll be in charge of distributing the money from now on. Don't disappoint me."

"Yes, Boss." Mark bowed again. "Also, from now on, you'll have a new business. Sell these." With a wave of a hand, dozens of low grade potions appeared in front of Noah. "Potions?! Boss, you're an Alchemist?!"

Everyone present was taken aback by this revelation. All of them had a single question on their mind: Why would an Alchemist come here? And why did he approach them instead of a larger force?

"Yes." Hearing Noah answer so nonchalantly made everyone's eyes shine. Many of them already began feeling that the Azure Dragon Gang was on its way to a better lifestyle.

"Also, tommorow, my helper will come here. Don't disturb him and let him in. He is a Paragon Rank Mage." The gang members nodded fiercely as they grabbed the potions.

As of this moment, Noah truly was like nobility to these people, a grand figure who existed on a different level than them.

"Boss, how should we call you?" Mark stepped in front and asked. Noah thought for a moment before answering. "Call me... Diabolos."


	167. Chapter 167

The Azure Dragon Gang immediately went to work. They even got their friends and family involved in selling the potions. 

Considering that the Azure Dragon Gang had been around for more than a hundred years, they had good relations with many of the other small organizations in the north district. As such, the potion sales started out with a bang.

Most of the money and mana crystals they earned were spent on recruitment efforts. Life was hard in Black Wall City, so as long as enough money was offered, there would be no shortage of people willing to join up.

Noah had plenty to keep him busy. The demand for the potions grew and grew and he had to brew more and more potions almost every day.

With the low grade potions to support them, the Azure Dragon Gang was able to fully call upon its hundred years of connections and history. With the help of Noah’s plans and schemes, their numbers grew in shockingly rapid fashion.

As their territory expanded, people came constantly, hoping to join. The potion sales skyrocketed, until all of the north district was shaken.

However, this naturally invited enmity from other factions within the north district. One day, Mark knocked on the door to Noah's room, worry plastered all over his face.

"Yes?" Noah's voice was heard from the inside. "Boss, it's bad. The three big factions within the north district have begun oppressing us. They say that unless we give them the Alchemist behind the potions we'll all die."

Noah didn't sound alarmed at all. In fact, this was what he wanted. These organizations were a good source of Paragon Rank Mages who he can enslave or use as ingredients for artifacts. "What about the Black Sieves?" 

The Black Sieves were the strongest faction in this city, and on their helm was an Officer Rank Mage. During this half a month, Noah had been carefully planning things so that the Black Sieves wouldn't notice what was happening.

"We have heard nothing about them for now." Mark replied. "Good. Send a message to those forces that I want to speak to them face to face." 

Mark was at first a little confused, but he suddenly received a realization and left soon after. 

......

Two days later, the three factions sent their leaders to the Dragon Cave Mountain, followed by most of their Paragon Rank subordinates. To avoid the other forces taking notice, they left in secret.

"Oh, if it isn't Lady Marsa? You're also going to Dragon Cave Mountain?" A young looking man whose face was covered in make up looked mockingly at a nearby woman.

"Stevenson, you look as disgusting as usual. How many women did you ruin since our last meeting?" A woman dressed in a brown robe showed a look of disgust.

"Hahaha." Stevenson smiled without care, but inside he was fuming. [Damn bitch. Once I get this Alchemist on my side and increase my standing, I'll see how you'll beg me for mercy...]

There was also another man dressed so that he wouldn't attract attention, but he said nothing and kept his silence. Between the two other Mages, he seemed to have the least presence.

The three leaders followed by their close guards made their way to the Dragon Cave Mountain. All the while, the three forces kept their distance, not daring to relax for a moment lest they be attacked by the others.

Finally, the big mountain appeared in front of their eyes. One Azure Dragon Gang member stood in front of the passage leading to the mountain. When he saw the number of people coming over, he immediately ran off.

"Haha, looks like they got a bit scared." Stevenson laughed to himself. The three of them made their way in front of the entrance to the cave, when they saw a peculiar sight. 

Right in front of the entrance, there stood a long table with tea served on it. Behind the table, instead of a crude cave entrance stood big doors made of stone, most definitely made with a help from an Earth Element Mage.

But what was most eye catching was a person who was sitting there alone and drinking tea. It was a young looking man with brown hair and a demon mask on his face. The man turned his attention to the three leaders now.

"Ah, the guests are here. Please, sit and enjoy yourselves. We have something to talk about." As if he was a complete outsider to this situation, the man in a demon mask waved his hand.

The three leaders didn't like the man's attitude, but for the sake of politeness they sat down, while their guards stood behind them. "You must be Sir Alchemist behind the Azure Dragon Gang, right?"

The person who spoke first was the ordinary looking man who kept his silence. "I am Arthur from the Lion Fang. I do not like to mince words, so I'll get straight to the point: if you join us, I can ensure you protection, riches, women and anything else you may want."

The other two leaders didn't want to get out done, each coming up with some special new offer. The man kept silent as he waited for them to finish. "Which will you choose, Sir?" The three of them looked at him with anticipation.

"I don't think you understand. I invited you here to ask you one thing: do you want to live or die?" When the question fell, the faces of the three leaders darkened immediately, and their guards prepared for a fight.

"Haha, Sir is really good at joking around. Would you mind to repeat what you said? My hearing is a bit off today." Stevenson showed a cold smile, and was prepared to strike should the chance present itself.

"I said-" Just then, a powerful pressure descended on everyone present, akin to a mountain pressing on their shoulders. "Do you want to live, or die?" The man in a demon mask asked calmly again.

"An Officer Rank Mage?!" The three leaders felt like their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. A realization dawned on them, and their faces paled. "This was a trap all along!" Arthur exclaimed.

"An Officer Rank Mage, why is an Officer Rank Mage here? This makes no sense...." Stevenson was trembling like a leaf in the wind as he muttered in a low voice.

Noah sat leisurely on his chair and counted the number of Mages present. [Each force brought 10 guards, which in total means 30 Paragon Rank Mages. This will be a good harvest.] 

These 30 Paragon Rank Mages represented almost the entirety of power in the north district. Taking them now would make Noah an immediate hegemon of the north region. But that wasn't his goal.

"You still didn't answer my question, dear guests." Noah smiled as he said in a chilling voice. The three leaders quickly understood what he wanted. "My Lord, what do you intend to do?" Arthur's speech immediately became respectful and subservient.

"I'll give you a simple choice. Become my subordinates and give up your Spirit Sources, or become my ingredients for artifacts. I'll give you 30 seconds to decide." Laying back in his chair, Noah kept silent.

The three leaders immediately began thinking, but it didn't take long to come up with the decision. If they refuse, they die. All of them were the lowliest of scum, they were naturally terrified of death.

"Your decision?" After the 30 seconds were up, Noah opened his mouth again. With a wry smile, Arthur was the first one to surrender his Spirit Source, with the other two leaders following right after.

Seeing their leaders submit, the guards immediately caved in and surrendered their Spirit Sources as well. There were, however, three Mages who were still hesitating, and they were killed instantly by Noah, their corpses stored in his spatial ring.

"Excellent. Now tell me, is it possible for you to contact other organizations and bait them to a secluded place?" Arthur and the other two fell into silence and thought about it.

"Well, it might be possible, My Lord. We can all try." Arthur answered while observing Noah's reaction. Seeing that Noah didn't become angry, he slowly let out a sigh of relief.

"I see. Try your best. For now, pretend like nothing happened and focus on the task. You're dismissed." Noah ended the conversation quickly and left the table, leaving the other three forces with mixed feelings.

"And just like that, we lost our freedom and our organizations in a span of few minutes..." Marsa dejectedly shook her head. "This is life. The strong rule, the weak obey, or die. We can only blame ourselves." Arthur said. 

"Well, as long as we get into that man's good books, I believe we won't have such bad lives. I'm kind of looking forward to it." Stevenson showed a smile. "I guess..." Marsa sighed.

A few days passed since that event. Slowly and patiently, Noah had been enslaving weaker forces in every district, all the while trying to stay under the radar of the Black Sieves. 

Two more months went by, and not only did the Azure Dragon Gang continue to grow, they had expanded their influence into three of the other districts, ensuring that their potion sales only continued to increase. 

Simultaneously, the Black Sieves finally noticed that their potion sales were dropping significantly. Previously, when they heard of potions circulating through the north district, they didn't pay it any mind.

After all, since the Black Sieves had their own low grade Alchemist, the potion market was pretty much monopolized by them. It was normal that other smaller forces would resell their potions for small profits.

Thus, they weren't worried. But over time, more and more reports came in about the ever increasing sales of the potions that exceeded that of the Black Sieves. An alarm began ringing through their heads. 

The Black Sieves immediately sent out spies and informants to find out just which force was willing to clash horns with the strongest force in Black Wall City. What they found out made their jaws drop.

A new organization rose to prominence in Black Wall City. The Azure Dragon Gang, previously a speck of dust in the eyes of the Black Sieves, was now a force with over a thousand members and twenty Paragon Rank Mages.

In Black Wall City, that really wasn't that impressive, but the Elders of the Black Sieves weren't rash fools; they quickly came to the conclusion that the Azure Dragon Gang must have a powerful leader that gave them the confidence to challenge their rule.

The Black Sieves' headquarters was in the central district of Black Wall City, and currently, a meeting was going on there to try to decide what to do about the Azure Dragon Gang.

At one point in the meeting, a cold snort echoed out. "The longer we wait, the worse it'll be for us. We'll simply fight it out with them. They may have a an Officer Rank Mage as a leader, but so do we!" 

Everyone looked over at the seat of honor. There, a middle aged man without a nose was sitting. Seeing that all eyes were on him, he spoke unhurriedly. "It doesn't matter who their leader is. We have to show these rookies who truly owns this city."


	168. Chapter 168

The next day, the entire Black Wall City heard the proclamation of a challenge from the Black Sieves aimed at the Azure Dragon Gang. The other forces, strangely, had no major reaction to this.

"Boss, the Black Sieves sent us a challenge. They want a battle between their boss and you." Mark entered the now completely renovated meeting hall inside the Dragon Cave Mountain.

Noah was sitting on the seat of honor, listening to the report. "Alright. Send them a message saying that I accept." Hearing this, Mark wore a worried expression. Although his boss was an Officer Rank Mage, he was an Alchemist.

In a battle between a Mage and an Alchemist, the Mage would win nine out of ten times. Alchemists simply didn't have time to practice and lacked battle prowess and awareness of a real fight.

It wasn't rare to see them getting scared and hiding behind defensive artifacts. 

For that reason, Mark believed that the reason why Noah didn't outright challenge the Black Sieves instead of slowly conquering smaller forces was because he was scared of their boss.

Regardless of his thoughts, however, Mark obeyed his orders and replied to the message. The battle would be held in the Black Wall City's arena for all to see. If the Azure Dragon Gang win, the city goes to them, but if they lose, they die or get absorbed by the Black Sieves.

......

A few days later, the entire Black Wall City was practically empty in anticipation of the showdown between two powerhouses. 

That Black Wall City's arena was normally used for betting on life and death fights. Savage beasts captured from all over would be thrown into this arena and fight to the death against the gladiators while the various forces of the Black Wall City would watch the bloody fights and bet on their outcome. 

The arena could house more than 1000 people, but it was still crowded and some Mages had to use familiars or other methods to have a chance of watching. 

The big organizations had special seats on a higher floor, and they all anticipated the event. Almost everyone believed that Noah would lose as he was an Alchemist.

He was stronger than them, but against a Mage of the same Rank he would certainly lose. And once he died, they would be free and not in danger of death looming over their heads.

Right now, the gates on both sides of the arena opened, and two people walked out from the gates. One was a middle aged man with a vicious look in his eyes and a scar in place of his nose.

Everyone started cheering for the man. This man was Klaus, the boss of the Black Sieves. The cheers were especially loud from the Black Sieves' corner. Klaus smiled arrogantly as he strode over to the center of the arena.

At the same time, a new figure entered, and everyone's attention moved onto him. It was a young looking man with brown hair and a demon mask on his face. 

The Azure Dragon Gang cheered for him, but the other organizations Noah subdued didn't move a muscle. This was because of Noah's order. This made it seem like Noah was someone who appeared out of nowhere and had no connections.

"So you are Diabolos? The name is not bad, but your brain sure is. You shouldn't have messed with my city." Klaus viciously licked his lips. For him, this battle was already decided.

"So you are Klaus of the Black Sieves." Noah said emotionlessly. "The one and only. I am known as Klaus the Eradicator. Are you shaking in your boots yet, little Alchemist?" 

"What do you say about a little wager, Klaus?" Noah ignored Klaus' words and asked a question. "What, you want me to spare your life after you lose? Haha, I might agree if you luck my boots." 

[How disgusting.] A flash of disgust ran through Noah's eyes. This type of behavior was what he considered primitive and no different to a wild animal. Still, he didn't say it out loud.

"Let's make it like this. Whoever loses has to give up his Spirit Source to the winner." A silence descended on the arena following his words. Even Klaus looked at like Noah's with surprise.

Everyone was thinking the same thing: was this guy an idiot? "Hahaha, looks like this Alchemist has a bit of a backbone, ain't that right?!" Klaus laughed, and the Black Sieves members laughed with him.

"Fine, I agree! Everyone here is our witness!" Klaus easily agreed. In his mind, there was no way he could lose. And once he won, this Alchemist wouldn't be able to renege on his side of the wager, lest he be shamed in front of the entire city.

An announcer went to the center of the arena in high spirits. "Today, a battle between the leaders of the Black Sieves and the Azure Dragon Gang will determine the ruler of the Black Wall City. We hope that you have placed your bets, everyone."

"Now, begin!!!" With the shout from the announcer, followed by a ground shaking cheer, Noah and Klaus prepared their spells. Klaus cast a Wind Element spell, and a barrier of wind enveloped him.

"Fire Snake." A fierce snake made of fire pounced madly on Klaus. Klaus' expression changed a little. He noticed that the heat from the fire snake already reached him even though it wasn't close.

A sense of danger rose in his mind, and he immediately began chanting a new spell. The fire snake crashed into the wind barrier, burning it frantically.

The power from the fire snake burnt Klaus' hair, and released a burning smell. Klaus grit his teeth and uttered a new spell. A berserk tornado enveloped the fire, finally scattering it around.

Klaus stood there, contemplating the power of Noah's spell. "That was just a taste. Do you surrender?" Noah asked. "Hmph, you may be a little stronger than a normal Alchemist, but it doesn't mean anything to me."

With a snort, Klaus performed another chant. Wind rose and smashed like a wave at Noah. Noah didn't react, sending out a wave of fire at Klaus. The two waves crashed into one another, creating an explosion.

"Wind Sickles!" Three wind sickles spun in the air and flew in Noah's direction, intent on turning him into mince meat. Noah didn't cast a spell, instead he walked slowly toward them.

"You idiot, do you think you can dodge them? What do you think you are, a Warrior?" Klaus grinned and casted another defensive spell to protect himself. He still wanted to be careful just in case.

"Wind Sickles are a powerful spell, but they are too predictable." Noah twisted his body in between two wind sickles. The sickles passed by, cutting through the ground like butter and smashing into the wall.

"H-how?" Klaus looked dumbly at Noah who continued walking like nothing happened. [I didn't even see him for a moment. What was that?] 

"Is that all you have, Klaus?" Noah asked. "Hmph, take some more! Wind tomb!" The wind rose, creating dozens of wind pillars that rose high into the air and flew at Noah from all angles. "Try to dodge that!" Klaus smiled.

"Chain Explosion." Noah took out a skull cross artifact and activated a blood red barrier around himself. At the same time, three big explosions enveloped the area where Noah was standing, destroying the ground and the approaching wind pillars.

Special magic formations activated in the arena immediately, shielding the spectators and reducing the overall power of the spells. If it wasn't for that, the entire city might be destroyed by the battle.

"Is that all you have, Klaus?" A figure clad in a blood red barrier exited the dust and slowly walked toward Klaus. "Fine, Diabolos, fine. I admit, I underestimated you. I didn't think you'd be able to fight equally with me. But!"

He pulled out a staff with a green diamond at the top. The crystal shined with a lustrous light, and a figure created entirely out of wind appeared in front of Klaus. "Can you fare against two opponents?"

"A wind elemental. What a good artifact." Noah praised. This wind elemental was at Officer Rank. It was a servant that would persist for as long as the user had mana, unless it was destroyed.

The wind elementals were particularly tricky, even when compared to other summonable elementals. It was because they could become invisible and attack from everywhere.

"Feel like surrendering yet? I might give you a position of a servant if you beg me well enough." Klaus grinned provocatively. The Wind Elemental already disappeared into nothing like a silent assassin.

"Good move. But not enough." Noah shook his head and began firing Fire Balls in all directions. The Wind Elemental would have to show itself when faced with this barrage. "I'm here as well!" 

Klaus sent forth multiple Wind Sickles again. "Fire Drakes." On Noah's command, five small drakes made of fire crashed into the Wind Sickles, dispelling them and moved on towards Klaus.

"Wind Blade." With the Fire Drakes being weakened to such an extent, Klaus easily got rid of them. At that time, the Wind Elemental showed itself and created a blade in the place of its arm, slicing at Noah.

Noah activated the skull cross artifact, shielding himself from the attack. The Wind Elemental didn't stop, slashing and rampaging at the barrier without stopping.

Noah's attention was entirely focused on the Wind Elemental. Seeing this, Klaus showed a vicious smile as he moved behind Noah's back, out of his sight and the range of his mana sense.

He took out a second artifact. This one looked like a smaller version of a cannon. It was black in appearance and a meter long. "Hehehe, goodbye, Alchemist." 

*Boom!* The cannon shot out a white projectile made of mana the size of a basketball. As long as it hit Noah, he would instantly blow up into a bloody mist. Klaus could already imagine the sight.

Just then, Noah twisted his body unnaturally and shot a Fire Ball at the Wind Elemental. The Wind Elemental was stunned for a second before slashing downwards with its hand. And right then, the mana projectile pierced right through it, shattering it to pieces.

The projectile continued on, crashing into the wall and creating a hole through it. It was possible to see the street outside through it. "What?! He dodged?!" 

Klaus' eyes widened in shock. He stood there dumbly, looking at Noah slowly getting up and walking towards him. "Klaus, is that it? Do you have anything else, or do you surrender?" 

For the first time, Klaus began feeling alarmed. This Alchemist was someone abnormal, far more tougher to deal with than a Mage of his Rank. [Who is he? How did I never hear about him in the Black Corner Region?]

"Not answering, huh. My turn then." Noah suddenly sped up and started running straight at Klaus. Klaus noticed that Noah occasionally seemed to disappear and reappear in front.

"So what?! I refuse to lose!" Klaus shot forth a wind tornado and moved behind it. "Chain Explosion." Noah activated his skull cross artifact and threw himself at the wind tornado. 

A moment later three huge explosions blasted the tornado apart, and since Klaus was behind it, the impact shook him a little. "He threw himself at it? Is he crazy?"

As Klaus looked in front, a flame javelin shot through the dust, crashing into the wind barrier and destroying it immediately. "Damn, so powerful!" Klaus had to admit that Noah's attacks were stronger than his own.

Just as he was about to cast another spell, Noah suddenly appeared in front of him, landing a punch to his throat. "Kah!" For a moment, Klaus couldn't cast any spells. 

Noah followed up by striking at Klaus' eyes with his fingers. "Aaahhh!" Klaus shrieked and tried to move away, but he was grabbed by the shoulders and thrown down on the ground like a ragdoll.

Finally, Klaus felt a fist smash on the place where his nose used to be. "Do you surrender?" Noah asked emotionlessly. "Never!" Klaus responded while trying to get up, but it was useless.

Noah wrapped his leg around his head, putting him in a chokehold. "Alright then." *Paf!* Noah punched Klaus straight into his throat again, following up with a barrage of punches to all parts of his face.

"Aahhh! Yeeoow! Diabolos, you bastard, fight me like a Mage! Aah! Oow! Bastard! Aarrgh!" Noah didn't stop for a moment, punching Klaus over and over. The crowd looked at the situation shocked.

The strongest Mage in the Black Wall City was now lying down pinned on the ground and beaten up like a dog. There was no dignity of a Mage left in him. At the same time, many sucked in cold air at Noah's brutality.

Noah didn't pull back his punches. He aimed at all the weak points; eyes, temples, ears, nose, jaw, he hit them over dozens of times. Klaus couldn't even defend himself or cast a spell because he was being strangled.

After half an hour of ruthless pummeling, Klaus finally threw his hands up and yelled out. "I surrender! Please stop! You'll kill me!" Noah stopped, but didn't release the chokehold. "Your Spirit Seed, please." 

Klaus let out a wry and painful smile before a blue line extended from his forehead and entered Noah's hand. Nodding in approval, Noah released his chokehold and looked at the announcer.

"The victor, Diabolos!!!" The announcer bellowed, and the spectators cheered. They were impressed by how an Alchemist won against a Mage in a way befitting a Warrior. 

The Azure Dragon Gang roared especially loudly. With their boss's victory, they were now rulers of the Black Wall City. At the same time, all of them swore to themselves never to piss off their boss.


	169. Chapter 169

The news of the Azure Dragon Gang's victory spread like wildfire through the Black Wall City. By the end of the day, everyone knew who the new rulers of the city were.

Now, the Azure Dragon Gang changed its headquarters from the Dragon Cave Mountain to the Black Sieves' former headquarters in the middle of the city. The Black Sieves were disbanded and absorbed into the Azure Dragon Gang.

The Black Sieves members who refused to join were let free, although Noah later secretly assassinated them outside the city. Noah killed ten Paragon Rank Mages and picked up their bodies.

At the same time, Dragon Cave Mountain was designated by Noah as his personal property. He still had plans about the mountain. 

A few days after Noah's establishment as the ruler of the Black Wall City, every organization in the city disbanded and was absorbed into the Azure Dragon Gang, making the number of Paragon Rank Mages in their arsenal around 300.

The citizens and rouge Mages stared in amazement at this development. Before, Klaus and the Black Sieves dominated Black Wall City, but they didn't go so far as to enslave other organizations and force Mages to give up their Spirit Seeds.

And yet, Diabolos did exactly that, turning the Black Wall City into his personal property. The Azure Dragon Gang was now the only force in this city. No one could stop them.

This created a problem. Because of Noah's actions of enslaving others, rouge Mages wouldn't want to hire themselves to him so easily out of fear of losing their freedom. Only the truly desperate would do that.

But Noah didn't care about those people. Most of them were some poorly trained riff raff. What he needed was an elite army, and for that, he needed to set up a Mana Gathering Array. 

This array was rather popular in many Sects and organizations, and needed two magic formations in order to be set up properly. 

Those formations were the Mana Channelling Formation and the Mana Gathering Formation. And the place where the array would be set up was naturally the Dragon Cave Mountain. 

With the Mana Gathering Array, training the 300 Mages Noah has under him into a formidable force shouldn't take longer than a few years.

Noah wasted a week on the preparations. After he confirmed that everything was in order, he went to Dragon Cave Mountain by himself. 

Noah immediately went to work, digging up holes, levelling off hills, or felling extra trees, transforming the surrounding terrain in exact accordance with his needs.

After an entire day of work, Noah looked at the results and nodded in approval. Then, he took out ten dark blue rocks the size of a basketball. These were Lapis Stones, formed in places deep underwater.

Being buried a few thousand kilometers under the sea, the Lapis Stones would attain a great degree of affinity with the Water Element over many years.

They were excellent ingredients for the Mana Channelling Formation, which would channel the collected mana towards a specific spot Noah decides.

On the other hand, the Mana Gathering Formation needed a different ingredient, a hundred year old piece of Pine Driftwood, but such an ingredient didn't exist in the Black Corner Region.

Fortunately, Noah had an alternative; he would use a special artifact known as the Seven Gathering Flags. When these flags were arranged in a certain configuration, they can gather mana from the surroundings.

Luckily, the one thing Noah needed to craft these flags with were limitless in the Black Corner Region: children slaves, with a B Rank aptitude at least. He already placed a large order on children slaves that fit the requirement.

Noah left the task of bringing the slave children to Dragon Cave Mountain to his clone. He went inside and took out a big black furnace and placed it in the middle of a wide room.

......

Noah's clone arrived at an ordinary looking building situated in the east part of Black Wall City. A fat man dressed in luxurious clothes quickly approached him the moment he noticed him.

"Sir, you're here! As we promised, here is the first batch of the products. Please observe them yourself." The fat man bowed and led Ian underground, to a long hall filled with children.

These children were clean and wearing tattered clothes, conversing in hushed whispers. When they saw Ian and the fat man approach, they shrunk back in fear and quieted down.

"Their aptitude is at minimum B Rank as I've said?" Ian asked, and the fat man nodded fiercely. "Of course, Sir. We are professionals, we wouldn't dare slip you counterfeit goods."

"Good." Ian nodded and handed over a bag filled with mana crystals. The fat man quickly stored the bag under his robes and promised that the next batch would arrive soon. Ian led the children into carriages and had them ride out of the city.

There were 100 children slaves that he bought. The rows of carriages invited some attention, but because Ian was masked no one could recognize him. 

The carriages arrived in front of Dragon Cave Mountain and Ian urged the children to follow him. The children at first believed that they were led here as workers for the mines, but they soon found out that they were wrong.

Ian led the children through the Azure Dragon Gang's former redecorated hideout, arriving in front of a wide room. The room was empty except for a big furnace with multiple rows of runes carved on its surface.

In front of the furnace sat a young man with a demon mask on his face. The young man was now using magic to light a fierce orange fire inside the furnace, making the temperature in the room rise sharply.

The runes on the furnace began shining with blue light, and the blazing fire suddenly changed color, from orange to eerie blue.

"It's ready. Time for the final step." The last step needed fresh flesh of 100 children with a B Rank aptitude at least, which would be thrown into the furnace to be melted down.

Ian turned his attention onto a nearby boy. The boy suddenly felt a calamity looming over him, causing him to feel anxious and panicky. Seeing the indifferent look in Ian's eyes, the boy shuddered and fell down.

Ian grabbed him and knocked him unconcious. His gaze fell on a nearby girl. The girl, realizing that the presence of that big black furnace couldn't mean anything good, felt enormous fear spreading through her body. Ian knocked her out as well.

It was all done efficiently; he removed all the clothes from the two children, then carrying one on each hand, he threw them into the fire.

The moment they were thrown into the fire, they immediately woke up due to the heat, and severe pain attacked them as they tried to madly flee.

"Aaahhh! It burns, it burns!" 

"Mommy, help me! Help!!" 

The two jumped out from the fire with their limbs crazily moving about as they desperately struggled. Ian coldly snorted before kicking them back into the fire.

The recipe stated that it required fresh flesh, thus Ian didn't want to kick them to death. As such, after he kicked them, they again ran out before he kicked them back in again. 

This continued over and over, until the two children were finally burned to death. Their bodies resembled candles as they slowly melted; the fire turned from eerie blue to scarlet blood color.

However, the fire transformation slowed down and didn't change anymore. The recipe had stated, the color of the fire had to change into reddish-purple for the last step to be considered a success.

Without a word, Ian turned towards the remaining children. Needles to say, the children were completely terrified and were running away from Ian as if he were the devil himself. 

However, the doors were shut; there was no escape. The children started despairing, crying profusely, screaming and kicking and punching the door to no avail. Ian picked up two each time and resumed throwing them into the fire.

Just like before, the two children melted away into nothing, all the while emitting horrible screams. The remaining children peed themselves out of fear. There were even some that fell unconscious, and they were the first to be thrown in.

After an hour or so, the last of the children melted away, and the fire in the furnace was finally changed into reddish-purple. The furnace shook, and the fire coagulated before releasing black smoke.

Once the smoke disappeared, what remained behind was a small blood colored flag. Ian picked up the flag from the furnace and inspected it. "Good. It was a success." He smiled.

Now, he only needed to wait for the next batch.

......

Four weeks passed, and Noah now looked at the seven small red flags in his hand. The Seven Gathering Flags were finally finished. Each one cost 100 talented children, but it was worth all the crystals spent.

Without wasting time, he and his clone got to work. Noah used his blood to form the Mana Gathering Formation around the Dragon Cave Mountain, placing the Seven Gathering Flags at the key points underground.

Once the formation was complete, seven red rays of light lanced up from each of the Seven Gathering Flags each measuring over hundreds of meters long. 

Once the seven rays converged above the mountain, they started to spread out until they formed an umbrella around the entire Dragon Cave Mountain.

At the same time, Ian placed the Lapis Stones in five key points underground, making sure that the mana doesn't dissipate into the air pointlessly.

Once the two formations were activated, Noah could notice a new sensation.

A subtle change in the surrounding mana occured, with the mana within a few dozen kilometres of the Dragon Cave Mountain being drawn in by some kind of invisible suction force.

This attraction wasn’t violent but instead quite smooth.

Noah breathed in with great satisfaction. "All that’s missing is time… as long as there is enough time, this place will have the densest mana within the entire Black Corner Region."

The third step of Noah's plan was complete. Now came the fourth step: create an army and wait for an opportune moment. Once the chance presents itself, Noah will plunge this region into chaos before conquering it in one fell swoop!


	170. Chapter 170

In the following days, Noah relied on his clone to create an underground passage from the current Azure Dragon Gang's headquarters to the Dragon Cave Mountain.

This passage would be used by every Paragon Rank subordinate of his to secretly train there without drawing attention to the mountain. Naturally, everyone was forced to sign contracts that prevented them the spread of any information they knew about.

After the passage was completed, Noah called over all 300 of his subordinates. "Boss!" "My Lord!" The Mages and Warriors all saluted him respectfully. "The passage was completed, so your training will now begin. Follow me."

Noah led the through the passage, towards a simple big door. When they arrived closer to the door, everyone noticed something that made them exclaim in surprise. "The mana here... it's a lot denser than the outside!"

"How is this possible? The mana here is usually 20% lower in density than outside, maybe even more. Did Boss do this?"

Noah answered calmly. "I set up a Mana Gathering Array." Hearing this, the Mages devolved into a hubbub. All of them were greatly excited. As long as enough time passed, this place could potentially have more mana than even outside.

"Perhaps this place could even turn into a small scale Spirit Land!" 

"Fool, not any place with a lot of mana can become a Spirit Land unless it develops Spirit Mist, and that can only happen next to places rich with Water Element particles."

"Shut up, I'm not that stupid. Can't a man dream?"

As they talked, Noah led them to a wide room, the same he used to create the Seven Gathering Flags. "This will be the place where all of you will train. Klaus, explain everything to them."

"Yes My Lord!" Klaus bowed before facing the rest of the Mages. Since he was the second strongest here, Noah appointed him his second in command. The others had to listen to him.

"Listen up, you little shits! Our Lord desires the Black Corner Region, and we will be his army that will present the region to him!"

"This will be the place where you will be whipped up into something presentable to the human eye. I will be in charge of training you; and you better pray that I don't catch you slacking off."

As he was speaking, Klaus took out multiple crystal balls and threw them over at the Warriors in front. "This is a special method Lord prepared for you called Tungsten Body Refining Art. You'll all practice it starting from today."

The Warriors looked at the crystal balls in their hands with excitement; this was a real Body Art! A Body Art was something not many people had, it was very precious.

A Body Art was a technique available only to middle tier forces at least. If practiced until the end, it would form a special body which would act as a foundation for a Warrior to practice a higher tier art in the future.

This Tungsten Body Refining Art in their hands had five parts. They are Iron Skin, Crystal Bones, Silver Blood, Gold Eyes and Tungsten Body. 

If they practice this Body Art till the end, they would gain a complete Tungsten Body, raising their toughness and strength by at least two times. It was no wonder why they were excited.

Klaus also took out another crystal ball and held it in his hand. "This crystal ball records a special training method called 'Physical Conditioning Exercise'. We are all to follow this method, Mages and Warriors both."

Hearing him, the Mages' faces darkened. Normally, only Warriors would focus on developing their bodies. Mages spent time researching new things or refining artifacts for use. 

But now they were forced to work out as well. Feeling that this was useless, some of them already opened their mouth to say something. "Oh yes, after a year of training, we will all have mock battles with Boss. You better toughen up before that." Klaus added.

"..." No one said anything, but their faces were ugly to look at. Everyone clearly knew what kind of beating Klaus received from the Boss, and he was the same Rank. What would happen to them then?

Noah didn't care about their thoughts. He now returned to the Azure Dragon Gang's headquarters and waited. There was an important person who was supposed to arrive today.

......

In the late afternoon, a decorated carriage entered the Black Wall City under the eyes of numerous passersbies. The carriage was guarded by two Officer Rank Mages.

The carriage drew to the center of the city, right in front of the Azure Dragon Gang's headquarters. A man who seemed to be in his late twenties exited the carriage and looked around.

He was handsome, with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes. He carried a smile on his lips as his eyes wandered around. The young man and his bodyguards were quickly escorted to Noah's room.

"Young Master Fabio, welcome to Black Wall City. I hope that your journey wasn't troublesome." Noah bowed respectfully. The young man's eyes quickly swooped over him.

[Neither servile nor arrogant. Not bad.] Fabio's smile deepened. "Mister Diabolos, I presume? I heard many things about you." 

"Please call me just Diabolos, Young Master Fabio. Calling me Mister would just make me uncomfortable." Noah replied as he urged Fabio to sit. A servant brought over white wine and placed it in front of Fabio.

[He knows that I enjoy drinking white wine. He must've done his research.] Seeing this, Fabio's eyes focused on Noah again, looking closely at his body language. 

[Completely calm even in the presence of two Officer Rank Mages.] Fabio took a sip of wine and placed the glass down. "Diabolos, I heard that you took over Black Wall City by enslaving its previous leader Klaus. Is that true?" 

"We made a wager with everyone as witness. Klaus had no choice but to accept in front of so many people." Noah answered.

"Oh, I'm not trying to find faults with you, don't worry. As long as you didn't kill him, it's perfectly acceptable." Fabio raised his hands in the air and smiled. "I see. That's good." Noah lightly laughed.

In fact, Noah already knew that the major powers of the Black Corners Region didn't care about such things as who was the leader of a city. The only thing that mattered was the number of available Officer Rank Mages.

The infighting in the Black Corners Region was fierce. Every force had to fight for themselves; alliances were rare and usually unreliable. Every faction had to rely on themselves, in other words, in their fists.

For that reason, Fabio didn't come here to strip Noah off his position as a leader of the Black Wall City. For all that he was concerned, Black Royal Pavilion gained another powerful Officer Rank Mage and another Alchemist.

They wouldn't drive him away and potentially risk him joining another force. Since Klaus was fine and combat ready, Noah being the new leader of the city was perfectly normal.

"We just need you to understand some rules in the Black Corner Region. Now that you joined Black Royal Pavilion with your actions, there are certain responsibilities you must fulfill." Fabio explained.

"Ah, I'm already aware of all the responsibilities. I heard from Klaus." Noah interrupted. "I'm willing to serve the Black Royal Pavilion." Fabio smiled and took out a contract. "That's great. Then, please sign here and submit your Magic Imprint."

Noah didn't disobey, and soon the two of them spent time chatting about meaningless things in order to form a friendly relationship. Noah offered Fabio to stay the night, and Fabio accepted.

The next day, he left the Black Wall City. "Young Master, I don't understand, why are you being so friendly to that man? He's just a good for nothing Alchemist." One of the guards spoke up.

"Haha, did you know, that 'good for nothing Alchemist' overwhelmed Klaus and defeated him without suffering an injury?" Fabio answered nonchalantly.

"What? Without a single injury? Klaus?" The two guards looked surprised and interested. This was obviously news to them. "I did some research on him. He suddenly appeared and took over the Azure Dragon Gang, which was at the time very weak."

"He then laid low and took over the north district of Black Wall City before waiting for three months and revealing himself to the Black Sieves, where he won against Klaus and promptly revealed that he already controlled all the factions in the city."

The two guards looked at each other and were surprised. One of them asked. "But Young Master, isn't it just easier to beat Klaus? Why go through the trouble of conquering weak forces first?"

"Well obviously, so that they don't escape." Fabio answered. The Black Sieves controlled the city through power and their only Alchemist; it was natural that many factions would become their dogs in exchange for their potions.

Once Klaus lost and the Black Sieves disappeared, these factions might be seen as nuisances and would rather escape to another city instead of risking being the new faction's targets.

By conquering the smaller forces first, Diabolos would be able to take over the city leisurely without fear of the city's military power diminishing. 

"He's a smart man. I wish to have someone like that on my side, it would make my life a lot easier." Fabio looked outside the carriage at the barren wasteland. "But I wonder, does his ambition end there?"

......

At the same time, Noah took out a communication device and called Robert Donell Jr. After a few seconds of static noise, Robert's voice was heard from the other side. "Noah, it's been a while since we last heard each other."

"Robert Donell Jr., I need more ingredients from last time. Also, what is the update on your father's condition?" Noah asked.

"Oh, he's just... feeling a little tired, you could say, hahaha." Malicious cackling echoed from the other side. 

"By the way, did you hear about a lot of interesting events these past few months? The Prisilba Kingdom's bewilderment about the disappearance of their port city and the Song Family's search for a son-in-law are the top news."

"I don't care." Noah answered. "I hope you will collect as much as you can, I happen to be in a great need of them." 

"Fine fine, but don't expect any miracles. I have to hang up now, so if you'll excuse me." Robert ended the conversation right after. 

Noah took out a pocket sized diary out of his robes and opened it. "Luciana, it's been some time. I need more ingredients..."


	171. Chapter 171

In a dimly lit stone room covered in dust, Robert Donell Jr. stored the magic communication device and called over a servant. "My Lord, you called?" The servant was skinny, with tumors growing from his body.

"Bring in the sacrifice." Robert said as he glanced at a stone statue in the middle of the room. The statue represented a humanoid monster with three heads; a wolf head, a human head, and a tiger head. 

The monster had a robust orc-like body, long claws on its feet and hands, a pair of wings on its back, and a scorpion tail. The statue was life-like, its eyes seemed to be moving from time to time as they flashed with a savage and bloodthirsty radiance.

The statue would look at Robert and the servant in front with a piercing gaze before slowly regaining its unfeeling state. "Looks like you're becoming a bit more conscious these past few days. Good, good." Robert smiled as he nodded repeatedly.

Just then, the servant returned to the room, carrying a sack. Inside the sack, a young woman had her mouth covered by a cloth – she fearfully looked at him as her body continuously twisted.

The servant gave a sinister smile, tore off the cloth on the young woman’s mouth, picked up a pig-butchering knife and ruthlessly stabbed her.

All of a sudden, the painful and mournful screams of the young woman covered the cellar. The eyes of the stone statue turned, and traces of savage power fluctuations pervaded the room. 

Robert's eyes turned extremely red under those fluctuations of power, looking similar to a lizard's. The screams persisted for a while before finally stopping.

The servant raised the still beating heart in his hands and presented it to Robert. Robert took the heart and threw it at the statue. "Eat up."

All of a sudden, the stone statue diffused traces of red radiance – as if coming to life, it opened it’s mouth and took a bite, swallowing the still beating heart.

From the three heads of the statue, the human head revealed traces of satisfaction. From the tiger head's mouth, a red mist flew out and entered Robert's body.

"Haah, how pleasant. I can feel myself being only a step away from the famous Paragon Rank. Who needs training when you can do this?" Robert seemed to have turned into a fat demon with small horns and sharp teeth for a few moments, before returning to human form.

"Well, I still don't hold a candle to that monster. I'd be surprised if anyone could, actually..." Wiping his hand of blood with a handkerchief, Robert exited the stone room, leaving the servant behind.

Exiting inside a small corridor, Robert walked until the end where a single torch illuminated the darkness. He grabbed the torch and pulled down. 

*Creak creak!* With mechanical noises, the wall on the right side moved downwards, exposing a set of stairs. Walking upwards, Robert found himself in a basement. The path behind him quietly disappeared, like it never existed in the first place.

Robert took a wine bottle from the side, opened it and cut his finger. Black blood slowly dripped from his finger into the wine bottle.

Robert fixed his clothes and hair before walking outside, the wine bottle in hand. "Young Lord, so you were here." An old maid with glasses approached Robert and bowed. "The Lord has asked for your presence."

"Oh, I see. I'll be there shortly." Robert's face changed immediately, making him look like a smiling well-meaning person. 

He walked up on the second floor and found a door at the end of a hallway. *Knock knock* "Father, you called for me?" 

"Come in, junior." A tired voice was voice from inside the room. Robert opened the door and looked at a figure lying on the large bed. 

Robert Donell Sr. looked completely different from before. His fat body gave way to a skinny one, and his hair was half white. Upon seeing Robert, his expression immediately brightened.

"My son, I heard that you've made a lot of progress in your training and that you can feel the threshold into Paragon Rank?" 

Robert sat down on a chair next to the bed as he answered. "Yes, Father. I can feel myself reaching the threshold. It won't be long before I breakthrough." 

"Good, that's good. I have no doubt that you will reach General Rank in your lifetime. You're this great Robert's son, after all, hahaha!" Robert Sr.'s laughter was interrupted by fierce coughing.

Robert Jr. put on a worried expression on his face and supported his father. "Father, you're pushing yourself too hard. Here, calm down." 

Robert Jr. turned his attention onto a night cabinet, on which stood medicine prescribed by an Alchemist. He took a bottle a helped his father drink it as he laid him in the bed.

"Damn this medicine, it tastes awful. Moreover, I have a feeling that it doesn't even work. Those High Grade Alchemists are all old charlatans. Cough cough..." 

[Well obviously, when you mix it with demonic blood, it becomes poison for the soul instead.] Robert Jr. tried hard to hide his sneer. 

"Father, are you sure that you don't know if you've been poisoned by someone? Perhaps an assassin of some sort?" On the surface, he behaved just like a worried loyal son as he asked.

"I'm certain! I may be an early General Rank Warrior, but I'm Generak Rank nonetheless. There's not many people who can sneak up on me without me finding out." Robert Sr. shook his head vehemently.

"Rather, the reason I called you here, my son, is to discuss with you the matter of inheriting the family." Hearing this, Robert Jr. pretended to be shocked as he waved his hands around. "Inheriting the family? Me? Father, I don't think I'm ready yet..." 

"I believe you are. I've heard that you made a lot of friends in high circles. If anything happens to me, friends are something we definitely need." Robert Sr. replied.

"Father, you..." Robert Jr. seemed on the verge of tears. "Don't talk like that. Here, I brought you your favorite wine. Drink this and cheer up." 

"Yippee, finally something that tastes good! Quick, pour me a glass!" Robert Sr. excitedly downed several glasses of wine before hiding the bottle underneath the bed.

"Father, why don't we wait for a while in regards to inheriting the family. I believe you'll get better. If worse comes to worst..." Robert Jr. didn't say the rest. His father took a good look at him and finally nodded.

"Alright, we'll do it like that for now. But you should prepare yourself for the worst. Now go out. I have to rest." Robert Jr. nodded and left the room quietly.

Immediately after, his sad expression turned into a victorious smile. [Finally we're at this point! Haha, old man, you should just hurry and die and let me inherit the family.] Robert Jr. felt like bursting into laughter, but he held himself back. 

[These years of poisoning him didn't go in wain. Now I just need to have some patience and everything will be mine!] In a good mood, he returned to his room and called over a maid. He had to let out some steam.

......

The Black Forest. Considered one of the most dangerous areas on the continent, it was a place completely black in appearance, as if the forest was covered by black ink.

In this empty place filled with monsters of the Shadow Element, something unusual happened. Two men and two women suddenly appeared in a valley enveloped in mist deep in the Black Forest.

One of the men was a brawny human with a blade on his back while the other was a skinny thirty-year-old Dwarf in a blue gown and a mask on his face.

One of the women was a human, wearing a skin tight red leather outfit and her hair was brown with drills. Her seductive figure would make any man lust for her.

The last woman was an Elf, wearing a white gown decorated with flowers made of ice and with a snow white hair.

"The place is as filthy as the Elders said. It's making me uncomfortable even after just a while." The skinny Dwarf shuddered as he looked around.

The man with a blade shook his head. "I don't think we'll find any potential disciples in this world. It's ridiculous for the sects to even try. We've abandoned this world for a long time and the environment should have already killed all the good seeds, even if there's any left."

"The Gate of Heaven opens once in centuries. We should have to bring someone back." The masked Dwarf touched the earth with his fingers. "Really bad ground."

"I heard that an Elder from the Myriad Snow Palace found someone good the last time she exited." The woman in a red outfit added as she glanced at the white haired Elf with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

"Yes, one of our Elders used a secret treasure to come here earlier while the Gate of Heaven was about to open. She found a twenty-year-old girl who didn't know anything about magic but had a rare Ice Spirit Root, something we in the Myriad Snow Palace need." The Elven woman in a white gown nodded.

The brawny man with a blade said enviously. "Uuf, an Ice Spirit Root! It's a rare being even in our realm and can no doubt become a powerhouse after a hundred years. The Myriad Snow Palace is so lucky!"

"So there's still something good about this world. I thought that after the Apocalypse this would be a barren wasteland." The masked Dwarf said.

"So anyway, we're here to find good talents, right? So where in the hell are we right now?" The bulky man asked. 

"Don't worry, we're inside a restricted zone. I have a special artifact the Elders gave me that will let us avoid dangerous monsters here." The masked Dwarf took out a wooden box with an eye carved on its surface.

The eye on the box shined, and a big eye appeared in the sky above the group, looking around in all directions. "There. That path is safe. Coincidentally, it seems like there is a person over there."

"Ooh, a person? Finally someone who can be interrogated." The brawny man ran off in the direction the masked Dwarf pointed at without a second thought.

"Ah, he's so reckless. We haven't visited this world for several centuries, who knows how much it has changed?" The masked Dwarf sighed and hurried after the bulky man.

At the same time, one of the black clothed Shadow Clan members was in the process of collecting special emerald green leaves from a tree. "Ah, judging by your clothes, you must belong to that 'Shadow Clan' we heard about last time?"

Suddenly, a man's voice was heard behind him, and the Shadow Clan member looked over his shoulder and saw a bulky person with a long blade standing behind him. 

"Who?!" The Shadow Clan member immediately jumped away onto a second tree and looked back on his previous spot. However, there was no one there anymore.

Instead, a punch suddenly came out of nowhere, hitting the Shadow Clan member and breaking his ribs. "Hey, hey, that's all you're worth? Looks like we may be the same Rank, but you people are truly too poor quality wise."

The bulky man laughed as he looked at the Shadow Clan member who crashed into a tree. The Shadow Clan member took out a paper bird out of his robes and bit his tongue, spitting out blood on it and releasing it.

"Calling for reinforcements, heh? Fine by me. I want to see how powerful you guys can be with numbers." The bulky man cracked his fists and was just about to kill the Shadow Clan member, when he was suddenly stopped by the Elven woman in a white gown.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. We have a clear mission: try to find useful talents. We have no time to get in squabbles with the Shadow Clan." The Elven woman said. 

"Fine, mission comes first. I don't want the Elders to chew me out for skipping work." The bulky man sighed and stood aside.

"Allow me to take care of this one." The woman in a red outfit approached and took out a barbed whip. She proceeded to violently beat up the Shadow Clan member and interrogate him about various things.

"So the Shadow Clan had a member with the Shadow Spirit Root, but it was stolen by someone. This is impossible. Even we don't have methods that allow transfers of Spirit Roots..." The group looked bewildered at this revelation.

"I believe this is too important not to report to the Elders. We should return." The masked Dwarf said after pondering for a while.

"I agree. We have also attracted needless attention. Let others search for talents." The white haired Elf agreed as well. 

"Aaw, I wanted to fight some more..." The bulky man complained. "Don't worry, this place will belong to us soon enough, you'll be able to fight anytime you want then." The Dwarf patted the bulky man on the back and left.

"Hehe, yes, this place will soon belong to us, the Ten Great Sects!" The bulky man laughed joyfully. The group of men and women disappeared without a trace...


	172. Chapter 172

The Sun shone brightly on a completely green place. The ground was unable to be seen, and countless bean stalks stretched out as far as the eye could see.

In a place filled with these gigantic plants hundreds of meters in size stood a mountain. The mountain was cleanly cut in two. Right now, on the ground, a woman exited from the inside of the mountain.

The woman had a glistering skin like the Moon, and her hair was long and blue like sapphire. Her graceful and curvy body was covered with simple white clothes along with a metal west under them. A white sword was sheared on her side.

Looking around curiously, the woman walked under the huge leaves that shielded the ground from the Sun rays. "What an interesting place. It could be beautiful is it wasn't filled with danger like it is."

Suddenly, the woman looked in front. The ground shook and burst open, revealing countless termites that made a literal wave splashed towards her. 

The woman stood there without moving. With a cold snort, the termites stoped dead in their tracks and surrounded her, but didn't come close. "Show yourself. If you let me pass, there will be no fight between us."

The woman showed off a tyrannical pressure that made all the termites tremble pitifully. Some of them even started running in circles and died of exhaustion.

"You expect to let me leave after you killed my children?" A female voice spread through the surroundings, and a thick arm with four fingers burst out of the ground.

What exited from the ground was a large humanoid ant, five meters in size, and with six arms. "Hmph, don't pretend that you care about them. You Devil Termites eat each other all the time." The woman answered.

"What a disrespectful mouth. I'll be sure to fill it up with eggs to shut it up." The tall Devil Termite spewed acid as it talked. It released pressure belonging to a General Rank Mage.

The woman showed a cold smile and immediately disappeared from her spot. When she reappeared, she was ten meters behind the Devil Termite, sheathing her blade.

"Kiiii!" With a painful screech, the Devil Termite was sliced into pieces that fell on the ground. Immediately, the small termites rushed at the remains of the big Devil Termite and started devouring it.

The woman looked at this with an indifferent expression before moving on. But it didn't take long before she stumbled upon a new monster.

It was a two meter tall cockroach with a pair of sharp incisors, wings and sharp blades on the joints of its four limbs.

"A human in my territory? Haha, looks like I'll be able to enjoy a good feast." Saliva dripped from its mouth as it spoke. "Fool." The woman was just about to attack again, when she suddenly felt two more beings nearby.

Turning around, she could see a three meter tall humanoid beetle, completely covered with carapace armor and a horn on its head.

Next to the beetle stood a mantis with six tentacles, at the end of which were six sharp sickles. "A human daring to be brazen in our territory, how long has it been since last time?" The mantis spoke.

"I don't care about your territories, if you're smart you'll let me pass in peace." The woman answered coldly, unsheathing her blade again. "Human woman, don't be so arrogant. There are three of us here. You're outnumbered."

The mantis said in an angry tone. "But you're all completely outmatched." The woman smiled, and suddenly, her body emitted white light just like the Moon.

At the same time, a phantom of a Moon appeared behind her, shining brightly. "Graceful Moon Divine Body, Moon Glitter!" With the woman's words, the Moon phantom behind her shone brighter than before, its light enveloping the three monsters.

"W-what is this?! This ability-" The three monsters could barely react before they were silently turned into fine dust. Three General Rank monsters died just like that.

"Monsters really can't be reasoned with, even if they are capable of speech." The woman sheated her blade and walked in a certain direction.

......

On a fiery red island that was covered in volcanoes, where even the ground was burning unceasingly, a man with long red hair was walking out of a lava lake. 

Drops of lava fell from his copper colored naked upper body. "What a lukewarm place, and yet my disciple has the gall to say that he wouldn't be unable to survive here. I must train him more when I return."

The man stretched his body as he walked, completely disregarding the scalding hot ground. It seemed as though he was walking through a field of flowers.

"Roooaarrr!" Suddenly, a huge troll fifty meters in size rose up from the ground, lava and fire splashing everywhere. "Oh?" The man looked at the monster in front of him with some interest.

"Human, die!!!" With a deep voice powerful enough to shake mountains, the troll swung its collosal hand down at the man. 

"Hoho, that looks fun!" The man smiled, punching out with his left hand. The giant's huge hand crashed into the man's fist, and exploded! 

"Guuooo! Me not understand! Me the strongest! How!!!" The giant roared in pain, its eyes showing fear when seeing the tiny man in front. "What a disappointment. Is this all a General Rank Flame Troll amounts to?" 

The man instantly disappeared from his previous spot. When he reappeared, he was below the giant. Sending out a kick with his right leg, he blew away the giant's leg.

The giant fell down in the ground, splashing lava everywhere. The man punched out a few more times, and the giant was killed. "Shame. Can't even take one punch."

The man pulled out a map and sat down on a nearby rock. "Let's see, the Lidour Kingdom is... Hey, isn't this pretty far away?" The man grumbled. "Whatever, I should hurry." 

Standing up, the man suddenly dashed forward, disappearing out of sight. Every step the man took, the ground would shake, and small craters would be left behind.

......

A completely white scenery spread out indefinitely. It was completely silent and serene. Just then, the ground cracked and broke apart, exposing a set of stairs that were completely frozen.

A figure dressed in a tattered black cloak exited outside. The figure's face was covered by a skull mask, leaving only a pair of eyes visible.

"Lidour Kingdom..." The figure took out a map and kept silent for a few moments. Then, he pointed at the ground and waved his hand. "Rise Undead." 

A black magic circle flashed on the snow, and a skeleton of a beast broke through the ground. The beast laid in front of the figure, letting it sit on its back. 

The figure pointed in a certain direction and the beast began running.

......

A young looking man with long light green hair walked out of a hole in the ground and stepped outside. He saw a sea of bones in front of him. The sheer amount of bones present would make anybody shiver.

The man fixed his light green hair over his long ears and let it flutter in the wind. He took out a small house out of his robes and threw it on the ground.

At the moment the house landed in the ground, it grew in size until it turned into a luxurious mansion surrounded by mist. The man entered and ordered. "To the Lidour Kingdom."

The mansion flew up into the air and left.

......

*Braang!* A golem fifteen meters in size broke through numerous stone pillars as it walked through a desert. At the same time, countless chaotic wind blades crashed into the golem, only leaving behind barely visible scratches.

"Hmm, Lidour Kingdom is that way. It shouldn't take long. Such a shame that I have to keep a low profile though." A middle aged woman with glasses stood in a room inside the golem.

"I guess I can use this time to laze around for a while. Maybe I should take a vacation, being an Elder is always so frustrating." With a laugh, she took out a book and opened it.

......

*Crackaboom!* "Kieee!" With agonized screams, a school of red fish with human faces on their backs fell into the sea, fried completely.

A drunken bearded man with a bottle in his hand quietly drank as a small boat quickly made its way on the sea, surrounded by continuous thunder strikes and tornadoes. 

The small boat would skillfully avoid the raging tornadoes, while the bearded man would calmly incinerate any sea monster that came to attack him with lightning.

"Burp! What bad weather. What were the ancestors thinking when they chose this place out of all places?" The bearded man grumbled as he finished the bottle, throwing it into the sea and taking out a new one.

......

A handsome middle aged man walked out of a small cemetery, dressed like a bard with a harf in hand. He looked at the green muddy sky above and frowned. "What an ugly place. Don't you agree, Unfeeling Sword?" 

Behind him walked a twenty year old looking youngster with an indifferent expression on his face. He was exceedingly handsome, with sharp eyebrows and short black hair.

"Focus, Windcatcher. We're in a dangerous place." He said, as he eyed the surroundings. Everywhere around them walked skeletons and zombies. 

Once they noticed them, they would rush over regardless of their strength, forcing the two men to slaughter them without stopping.

"It's no big deal. I'm sure that if just one of our sects puts out mind to it we would be able to completely clean up and rejuvenate this place." The bard looking man called Windcatcher replied.

"Nonetheless..." Unfeeling Sword took out a small cloud and dropped it on the ground. The cloud enlarged enough for him to stand on. 

Windcatcher equipped a pair of boots with wings on their ends. Like that, he was able to easily run across the sky. "Lidour Kingdom, here we come!"

......

"Hahaha, burn burn burn, everything burn!" A bald man with a scorched face laughed as he threw fire in all directions, turning everything around him into a burning inferno.

"Who is he?! I've never heard of a maniac like this!" The surrounding Mages tried to put up a fight, but we're burned to cinders within moments.

"H-he's a General Rank Mage! Run!" 

"Aaahhh, spare me, please!" 

"Mercy!" 

"No, please!!!"

The bald man listened to the screams and stood in the center of a burning city. With every scream, the smile on his face grew exponentially.

"You ants should be glad that you were burnt for my enjoyment, hahaha. I hope that the Lidour Kingdom people will also produce such nice screams." The bald man left as fast as he arrived, leaving scorched dirt behind.

......

"So this is the Black Forest? Looks just as I've heard." A short boy walked out of the white mist and looked around.

He wore an amused smile on his face and was dressed in royal clothing, just like a prince. He had short blonde hair and in his hand was a scepter in the form of a spider head.

"I still have to wait for the rest of them. This looks like a good time to visit the capital, hehe." The boy walked through the forest, leaving behind a toxic imprint in the ground behind him.


End file.
